Sonic OVA 2: Shard's Adventure
by Blade the Cyborg
Summary: Seven years after the events in the movie, Knuckles recovers Metal's chip from his melted-down remains, and Sonic states that he wants to bring him back to life. Using a new power gem, Tails rebuilds Metal into a newer body and changes his name to 'Shard'. However, Robotnik has plans for a new and improved Metal Sonic... Will Shard defeat the newer model? Or will he fail?
1. Chapter 1: The Computer Chip

_**Sonic OVA 2: Shard's Adventure**_

**~Chapter 1: The Computer Chip~**

_Metal dropped the president and Old Man Owl as he flew from the wreckage of the exploded ship, extremely damaged. _

"_Metal!" Sonic reacted as both of the rescued ones fell on him._

_Metal looked up, seeing some debris falling directly down towards him. He had no time to move, and as the piece made contact with him, he buzzed, speaking in his robot language, as he fell down to the lava below._

"_No!" Sonic shouted, jumping down after him. _

"_Don't do it, Sonic!" Tails yelled, but it was too late since Sonic had already jumped down. "What are you doing? Stop! SONIC!"_

_Another part of the ship fell in the lava, causing a fountain of lava. When it disappeared, Sonic could see Metal, still alive._

_Metal looked up at him weakly. _

_Sonic shielded his eyes because the heat was hurting them, but looked again, seeing Metal trying to crawl up as sparks jumped from his broken parts._

"_Grab a hold of my hand!" Sonic instructed, reaching his hand out so Metal could reach it._

_Knuckles jumped down and grabbed Sonic, pulling him back. "Wait, don't do it, Sonic, he'll drag you under with him!" he warned._

_Sonic ignored Knuckles, trying to pull away._

_Metal continued to climb up towards Sonic, making some whirring high-pitched noises as if speaking. He reached for Sonic's hand. Sonic also reached, until Metal swatted Sonic's hand away._

"_Huh?" Sonic reacted._

_The lava began to engulf Metal, until a voice spoke in Sonic's head – Metal's voice._

"_There is only one Sonic…" Metal stated as he was almost completely under the lava._

"_No! Don't!" Sonic cried, still trying to pull away from Knuckles._

"_Don't do it, Sonic!" Knuckles hollered._

_It was too late. Metal was already under the lava._

"_METAL!" Sonic screamed._

…

_Seven years later…_

The lava was now history. It had subsided, and no trouble had been seen in the Land of the Sky since. All the events that had happened there with Hyper Metal Sonic were mere memories which Sonic had tried to forget.

Knuckles had decided to explore the Land of the Sky, surveying the changes since seven years ago. The lava had indeed gone, which didn't seem much of a surprise to the red echidna, so he decided to leave the scene. Until one thing in particular caught his eye, causing him to look down the ditch again.

Down below was something that looked a little bit like a sculpture. It was holding onto the wall as if to drag itself up. The funny thing was, it was in the exact position Metal was in as the lava engulfed him all that time ago. And it was in the exact same spot. It even looked like a statue of Metal which was a little melted. That was when it hit him.

"What the…!" Knuckles reacted, backing off, but tripping up onto his back. He instantly sat up again, shaking his head. Knuckles stood up, looking down again. He had to get a better look.

Knuckles jumped and glided down to the bottom of the pit, landing beside the remains of Hyper Metal Sonic. It was him alright, only melted down, still maintaining his shape slightly. Knuckles was about to smash it, until hearing the whirs of electricity. The sounds were coming from inside the chest of Metal's remains. This confused the echidna even more. Knuckles scratched his head, debating whether to just leave the situation as if it never happened, destroy Metal's remains or find a way on discovering what was up with Metal. He then made his decision.

The echidna raised his fist, hitting Metal's chest, and out of it fell a computer chip that was still intact. The whirring of the static stopped.

Knuckles picked up the chip, examining it. He didn't know much about this stuff, so needed help from Tails.

…

Sonic was sat outside in the sun, lying on a sunbed as he held his plate of chilli dogs, shoving them one by one down his throat greedily.

Tails was on his motor-board, which was a surf board he had recently created with jet-boosters.

Sonic then saw something flying from the sky towards him. At first he assumed it was a threat, but then he realised that it was only Knuckles.

Knuckles landed by Sonic.

"Hey, Knuckles," Sonic greeted. "Haven't seen you in a while. Where've you been, bud?"

"I was just exploring the possible changes in the Land of the Sky," Knuckles answered. "But that's not why I'm here. I found Metal Sonic's remains there, and inside his chest was this." Knuckles showed Sonic the computer chip. "It's still completely intact."

Sonic looked at the chip, a little surprised. "…I think we need Tails over here," he stated.

Tails was still surfing around quite happily.

"Yo, Tails!" Sonic called.

Tails noticed Sonic calling for him, quickly turning and surfing to the shore. Once there, he jumped off his board and carried it under his arm. "What is it?" he asked.

"Knucklehead found this," Sonic said, handing Metal's chip to Tails.

Tails examined the chip, his eyes widening. "No way! This is a Custom AI ROBOTNIK Chip!" he exclaimed, sounding shocked.

Both Sonic and Knuckles had no idea what he meant. However, Tails continued.

"Robotnik only uses these to power his most advanced mechs! Knuckles, where did you find this?"

"In Hyper Metal Sonic's remains," Knuckles answered.

Tails looked at him, his expression changing. "Wait… You took this from his remains?" he asked, sounding horrified.

"I wasn't sure what it was, or why it was making weird noises," Knuckles excused. "Besides, I don't exactly know what it is."

"It's what contains all the programming and data of Metal," Tails explained. "If Robotnik ever got a hold of this, he would rebuild him! We have to destroy it now!"

"Tails, hang on a sec," Sonic intervened. "I think… I think he deserves a second chance."

"What!" Tails and Knuckles exclaimed in unison.

"Sonic, Metal tried to kill you, remember?" Tails reminded.

"But he saved Old Man Owl and the president," Sonic added. "Those were his last moments. If we brought him back, he'd be on our side, right?"

"It's not worth the risk, Sonic," Tails confirmed.

"Tails, you remember that I had a mind connection with Metal, right?" Sonic began.

"Yeah, so?" Tails remembered.

"Well, I still am connected. We both feel the exact same emotions, and even though most of the time I'm happy, I can still feel Metal's regret. In fact, now's the most time I'm feeling it. He's still alive inside that chip – we can bring him back!" Sonic clarified. "Let's give him a new body, and we need a new power source for him."

Tails sighed, giving in. "If you're so sure, then fine…" he agreed. "I'll get the power gem I found three weeks ago." With that, Tails went to get the power gem.

'_Don't worry, Metal. We'll help you. We'll give you another chance.' _Sonic said in his mind, hoping that his robotic counterpart had somehow heard him.

**~End of Chapter~**


	2. Chapter 2: The Resurrection

**As I have had rightfully pointed out, I forgot to mention that I do not own any of these characters. I will not be using any of my OC's in this story because it will spoil the atmosphere. I repeat, **_**I do not own any of the characters in this story. They are copyrighted to Sega.**_

**By the way, this story is set seven years later so Sonic is fifteen. The original Sonic, whom no doubt was used in the movie, was eight years old.**

**~Chapter 2: The Resurrection~**

'_I can't believe I'm rebuilding Hyper Metal Sonic when he tried to destroy the Land of the Sky…' _Tails thought as he tinkered with the body he had just built. So far it was lifeless, and the last piece needed was the power gem – after the arm was fixed on completely.

The arm had been completely attached, and now it was the most risky part of the job. Tails had to install the power gem core. In doing this, he would have activated Metal once again. Hesitantly, Tails carefully placed the red power gem in Metal's chest, quickly pulling away once it was fitted into place.

At first there was nothing, until Metal's hand twitched slightly. His red irises turned on, 'blinking' a few times before they turned green. The red power gem also turned green. He sat up, glancing around to adjust to his surroundings. That was when his attention was drawn to Tails.

Tails stayed exactly where he was, at a safe distance.

Metal just tilted his head.

"...Hello," Tails decided to say, gulping before he said it. "I-I'm Tails… Sonic told me to rebuild you in a new body… H-Here, you can take a look at yourself…" Tails handed Metal a mirror.

Metal took hold of the mirror, looking at himself. He was in a slightly different body, which was the colour black, and he had yellow markings on himself. He also had an arm cannon on his left arm, and the most noticeable thing was his mouth.

"Y-You can talk now…" Tails continued. "I installed a mouth for you…"

Metal wasn't sure how to use the mouth, thinking of something to try and say. He opened his mouth to speak.

Tails stood there, hopeful. If the mouth failed, then that was lots of work and efforts down the drain.

"Great job, kiddo," Metal said with a smile. His voice had much emotion in it, sounding slightly computerized.

Tails seemed confused, but then decided to respond, scratching his neck nervously. "T-Thanks."

Metal noticed Tails' nervousness. "What's up?" he asked. "Something bothering you, Miles?"

"It's not every day that I get to rebuild one of Robotnik's robots," Tails answered. "And I'd prefer it if you called me Tails."

"Okay then Mi- Tails," Metal replied. "But can I ask, why did you even change your name?"

"It's just a name my friends call me," Tails answered. "And also… I kinda hate my real name."

"Same here. My name is 'Metal Sonic', think how I feel," Metal compared.

"I thought your name was Hyper Metal Sonic," Tails pointed out.

"They're practically the same, you know," Metal stated.

"If you hate your name that much, why don't you just change it?" Tails suggested.

"To what, Hyper?" Metal responded.

"To anything. Wiz? Bumblebee? Matrix? Jack?" Tails replied, giving examples.

Metal thought. He didn't really like any of those names, until one hit his mind as he attempted to click his fingers, smiling. "I've got it! How does this sound: Shard?" he thought out loud.

"Why would you be called Shard?" Tails asked.

"Well, this power gem pieced all my data shards back together in my operative chip. Also, it sounds cool," Metal explained.

"I suppose it does suit you…" Tails acknowledged. "Alright, you chose that to be your name, and so from now on, your name is Shard – Shard the Metal Sonic."

"Cool," Metal smiled.

"Alright then, Shard, how about we start to help you socialize with the others?" Tails recommended.

"Socialize?" Shard asked, sounding a little nervous. He folded his arms and looked down nervously. "I'm not sure if I'm ready…"

"Come on, Shard, what's the worst that could happen?" Tails questioned.

"Considering that I tried to destroy the Land of the Sky not so long ago, I don't think anybody would really want to talk to me, let alone talk _about_ me," Shard answered. "Could you imagine me in a conversation? Let's use Sonic, for example. He could say something positive about you, like: 'Hey, Tails, we've been buddies for years and you've never left my side.' Me? 'Oh hey, Shard, remember that time when you tried to kill me and destroy the Land of the Sky so Robotnik could build his empire and marry Sara? They were some great times, right?' I mean, what's the point if everything in an average conversation will be about me trying to kill Sonic?"

"Hiding away won't help you," Tails finalized. "Besides, you could start helping us and all those times would be nothing but a memory."

"A very disturbing memory," Shard corrected.

"Shard, we all worked together to rebuild you," Tails revealed. "Knuckles found your data chip, Sonic convinced me to rebuild you and I built you a new body."

"Why would Sonic want to repair me after I tried to kill him?" Shard questioned.

"He claimed that he could feel your regret," Tails answered. "The regret of what you had done. Subconsciously in your core you were feeling regret."

"I was?" Shard asked.

Tails nodded.

"For how long again?" Shard questioned.

"Seven years," Tails responded.

"So Sonic's fifteen now, right?" Shard clarified.

"Yup," Tails replied, nodding. "Let's just get you in the civil world, Shard." Tails then headed outside.

Shard followed behind slowly.

Tails used his two tails to fly up.

Shard tried to use his new boosters to follow, but ended up falling back down to the ground into the sand of the beach on his front. He wasn't completely used to his new body.

Tails flew back down to his side. "Are you okay?" he asked.

Shard just raised his thumb, before pushing himself up. His metallic face was covered in sand until he shook it off, getting back to his feet.

"Try again; you'll eventually get the hang of it," Tails assured, flying back up.

"Hopefully," Shard replied. Carefully, he used his boosters to hover, losing his balance slightly. He then managed to balance himself, flying after Tails. He was soon by his side in the sky.

"Alright, Shard, you got it!" Tails smiled.

"I suppose I have," Shard responded, also smiling.

"Now all we need to do is find Sonic," Tails stated.

Shard followed Tails the whole way of the flight until they eventually found Sonic in Green Lake City, sat on a bench eating a plate of chilli dogs.

Tails flew down to Sonic, with Shard by his side.

Sonic looked up at Tails, putting up his thumb to greet him as he landed.

"Hey, Sonic," Tails greeted.

"Hey, lil' buddy," Sonic replied with his mouth full. He then swallowed his bite of the chilli dog with force. "So, what brings you here?"

"We came to find you," Tails answered.

"We?" Sonic asked, sounding baffled.

"Haven't you noticed the robot by my side?" Tails asked, in an obvious tone of voice.

"What robot?" Sonic asked, sounding more confused.

Tails looked to his side, seeing that Shard was gone. He looked up, down, behind and to the other side of him. There was no sign of the black and yellow robot. Tails sighed. "He must be shy again…" Tails then flew off to find Shard, finding him easily. He was hiding in a bush , his black ears poking out of it and his electric green eyes shining through the shadows of the bush. Tails laughed.

"Shard, what are you doing in there?" he asked, still laughing slightly.

"I'm not here," Shard responded.

"Yes, you are," Tails argued, pulling him out of the bush. "I already told you to stop hiding."

Sonic came over. "Tails, is everything alright?" he asked, until he noticed Shard.

"…I'm in your imagination," Shard lied.

"Sonic, this is Shard," Tails introduced. "You know, he used to be Hyper Metal Sonic."

"Good to have you back Met-Shard," Sonic said, smiling. He held his fist out for a fist-bump.

Hesitant, Shard gently fist-bumped Sonic.

Sonic smiled his usual grin.

Shard smiled back with a nervous smile.

"You two are getting along well," Tails noticed.

"Well, we are connected," Shard responded.

"Hey, you can talk now?" Sonic acknowledged.

Shard looked at him and nodded. "Tails sure knows how to build robots," he complimented.

"That's Tails for ya," Sonic agreed. "It's a natural born talent of his."

"I noticed," Shard said.

"Well, we'd better be heading back now. It's getting late," Sonic realised. He turned to Shard. "Hey, wanna race?"

"Alright," Shard replied.

Both the two then sped off quickly, leaving a breeze.

Tails flew off after them.

…

That night, everyone was resting. Sonic and Tails were sleeping soundly, while Shard was quite uncomfortable in his sleep-mode state. He seemed to be having a nightmare of something.

The lava. His memory of him falling and dying in it. Even though he let it happen, it wasn't a nice experience.

He then heard Robotnik's voice echoing in his head as images flashed quickly.

"_I'll get you, Metal. You worthless piece of scrap! It's about time you expired like all robots do!"_

"No…" Shard groaned, twisting around in a disturbed way while resting.

"_You'll be destroyed, Metal Sonic. You shouldn't have betrayed your master! Your end will be soon!"_

"No…!" Shard groaned again, this time a little louder, his twists and turns becoming a little more uncomfortable.

Different images then flashed. It looked like himself – his old self, lifelessly standing in a spotlight while he was surrounded by darkness.

"_Metal Sonic, you will destroy your inferior model!" _Robotnik's last echo-voice was, as the other Metal's eyes switched on.

"No!" Shard shouted, rebooting suddenly. He looked around, panicking, seeing that everything he saw was just a virtual image in his mind. Realising everything was just in his mind, he decided to go back in sleep-mode.

**~End of Chapter~**


	3. Chapter 3: The Enemy

**~Chapter 3: The Enemy~**

Shard rebooted early that morning. Sonic and Tails were still asleep. On his mind was his nightmare last night. He had never had a 'nightmare' before, it was new to him.

Since the others were still sleeping, Shard went outside and sat on the beach by the water. Similar to Sonic, he hated water. This was either because he was still highly connected to Sonic, or because he was a robot. However, he enjoyed looking at water.

The images were still in his mind. The lava, the voices… the Metal Sonic.

"What did all of that mean?" Shard asked himself, thinking.

…

Robotnik was watching a large screen in his base. He had a perfect visual on Shard.

"So… my Hyper Metal Sonic is still functioning…" he acknowledged. "But because of that overload of Sonic's personality seven years ago, he's working with Sonic and Tails!" Robotnik then paused to calm himself down, grinning. "However, I don't need to build a Metal Sonic which can synchronize with Sonic in _every _way, so I'll just build one with all of Sonic's abilities – with extras!" He then laughed evilly.

…

Sonic stretched as he woke up. Before he opened his eyes, he saw in his mind that Shard was outside. Sonic opened his eyes, standing up and sighing, putting on his sneakers.

Heading out onto the beach, Sonic saw Shard sitting by the sea on his own. He sped to his counterpart's side.

"What's up, Shard?" Sonic asked.

Shard looked up at him, then back out to the horizon. "…Nothing…" he lied.

"Come on, don't lie to me, Shard," Sonic responded. "I know that something's bothering you."

"Tails really should've got the whole mind-connection removed," Shard stated. "But that's not what's been on my mind."

"I can tell," Sonic reminded, trying to make a joke.

Shard shook his head, laughing a little, before getting back to being serious. "You see, I was seeing images in my head last night," Shard began.

"You mean you were dreaming?" Sonic questioned.

"It was more of a nightmare," Shard corrected before continuing. "Anyway, the one I had was almost like… I don't know, a vision…"

"What exactly did you see?" Sonic asked. "I was dreaming about chilli dogs last night. Sweet, sweet, chillies…"

Shard rolled his virtual eyes. "I was being haunted by my last moments seven years ago, which I can understand," he explained. "However, I heard Robotnik's voice echoing in my head. He was saying that he was going to destroy me or something, and I visualised another me activating."

"Wait, so you think that Robotnik is building another Metal Sonic?" Sonic asked.

Shard nodded.

"But didn't the disk containing my DNA get destroyed?" Sonic questioned.

"Maybe he doesn't need your DNA," Shard responded. "Maybe all it needs is speed, strength, power and perfection."

"Maybe," Sonic nodded, agreeing.

Tails then flew to the two. He had just woken up. "Why are you up so early?" he asked.

"Oh, you know, we were just… watching the sun rise," Shard fibbed.

"Isn't that a little… boring?" Tails questioned. "Especially for Sonic?"

"Hey, I only just got here," Sonic clarified.

"Don't tell me that there's a rule to not watch the sunrise," Shard said.

"There's no rule," Tails assured. "It's just not a usual thing for everyone, that's all."

"_Sonic? Tails? Are you there?" _a voice asked, coming from the inside of the crashed aeroplane the three were staying in.

"That sounds like the president," Sonic stated.

"Why would he bother us this early?" Tails questioned.

"The only way to find out is to ask," Sonic replied. "Come on." He then headed inside with Tails. Shard followed.

…

The three found the president talking on a screen to them.

"You called, Mr President?" Sonic recalled.

"Yes, Sonic, I called because of an emergency," the president replied. He then noticed Shard. "Sonic, Tails, look out! There's a robot behind you!"

Sonic and Tails turned, looking at Shard, then back at the president. "Oh, him? That's Shard. He's on our side," he assured.

"Hi there," Shard greeted, waving as he smiled.

The president looked at Shard curiously, before turning his attention back to the other two. "Anyway, this is really important. My daughter, Sara, has been kidnapped by Doctor Robotnik!"

"Robotnik?" Tails exclaimed.

"Oh no, not that creep…" Sonic sighed.

Shard stood with his finger on his chin, thinking as he rested his arm in his other hand. _'Maybe this could lead up to what I saw in my so-called nightmare…' _he thought.

Sonic turned and looked at him again, knowing what his robotic counterpart was thinking. He then looked back at the president. "Why would he want to capture Sara?" he asked.

"I don't know. But Sonic, you have to be careful. Robotnik might want to trap you!" the president warned.

"Him? Trap me? I'd like to see him try!" Sonic laughed. "Anyway, Tails and I will confront him – wherever he is - with Shard to rescue Sara and kick Robotnik's butt yet again."

"Hurry, Sonic, and be careful!" the president last said before switching off the call.

Sonic turned to Tails. "Tails, get the Tornado running," he commanded.

Tails nodded, flying out.

"Is there anything you want me to do, Sonic?" Shard asked.

"Try to locate where Robotnik is right now," Sonic instructed. "I'll go and do the most important job of all: make a batch of chilli dogs."

Shard sighed, laughing a little. "Yeah, you do that, Sonic."

Sonic then sped off to the kitchen.

Shard began trying to locate Robotnik. Since he was still classed as one of his robots, he could easily track down the currently active base. However, what Shard didn't realise was that also Robotnik could keep track of his every move…

…And that was Robotnik's plan.

**~End of Chapter~**


	4. Chapter 4: The Encounter

**~Chapter 4: The Encounter~**

Sonic returned with a plate of chilli dogs, already eating away at them.

"Those things sure are important to you, huh?" Shard assumed.

"Shard, if you could taste these, you'd be begging for more every time you hear their name," Sonic responded, swallowing one whole.

Shard sighed.

Tails then returned. "The Tornado is all set, Sonic!" he announced.

"Cool," Sonic replied. "So Shard, have you got a good idea on where 'Buttnik is?"

"He's in his base in Robotropolis," Shard answered.

"And that's his homeland," Sonic added. "We might encounter Metal Robotnik again."

'_I think we'll be encountering a different Metal…' _Shard thought to himself.

Sonic looked at him.

Shard looked back at him. "I definitely need to get that removed from me," he stated.

"Maybe later. Right now we should be saving Sara," Sonic clarified.

"Then let's go already!" Shard said, flying out.

Tails and Sonic ran after him.

…

Sonic stood on top of the plane as Tails piloted it, flying off into the sky. Shard flew just ahead to lead the way to Robotropolis. He felt a cold feeling inside him as he thought of that place - his birthplace. Sonic could feel his uneasiness, sighing.

After a while of flying, Shard eventually sighted the recognisable city of Robotropolis. "We're here!" he announced, flying down.

Tails landed the Tornado where Shard had landed, jumping out of it. Sonic jumped off the top wing, looking around. "As dull and dark as always," he acknowledged. "Where's the welcoming party?"

"I think there might be a surprise for us inside the base," Shard responded, sounding nervous.

Sonic stood by his counterpart's side. "I know it's hard for you to come back here," he sympathized.

"It just… feels weird," Shard described. "To think that this is where I was born. This is where you and I first encountered. This was… my home."

"If you start to feel uncomfortable, you can leave or stand aside. We won't push you to do anything," Sonic said.

"Let's just see what happens," Shard finalized, beginning to walk in. "Come on."

Sonic and Tails followed him, entering Robotnik's base.

When inside, Shard began looking extremely uncomfortable. Sonic noticed his discomfort, walking beside him. "Remember, just take it easy and if you want to leave, leave," he reminded.

"I'll be fine…" Shard responded, looking away. "I just need a little time, that's all…"

Sonic understood Shard, until when they walked through a certain door, it slam down shut and the lights were out. All that could be seen was Shard's red irises.

"Shard, can you see anything?" Sonic asked.

Before Shard could answer, a laugh could be heard. The lights were switched on, and the three could all see Robotnik standing on a platform above them. The room was very large and the walls were grey, and a tub of lava was just below Robotnik and in front of him. Hanging above it was Sara, tied up. She was screaming and squirming.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't Sonic, Tails and Hyper Metal Sonic," Robotnik laughed. "As you can see, Sara here will meet her doom unless we come down to an agreement."

"Sonic, help me I'm gonna die if you don't save me from him and my daddy will be very angry with you if you don't!" Sara screamed, squirming.

"What do you want from us, Robotnik!" Sonic shouted.

Robotnik grinned. "I want to see Hyper Metal Sonic battle against my latest and greatest invention!" he laughed.

Shard looked a little nervous, remembering his vision.

"If he wins the fight, Sara is set free, if he loses, then Sara meets here doom!" Robotnik chortled.

Sonic and Tails were then grabbed by two SWATBots. At first they struggled, but then gave up.

Shard stepped forward, awaiting his opponent. He prepared himself for the battle, but was still nervous.

Robotnik pressed a button on a remote which he pulled from his pocket. A door in the shadows opened, and some blaring red irises could be seen. Out from the shadows stepped a blue robotic hedgehog. Shard felt as if he was looking at his past-self through a mirror.

Sonic and Tails stared in horror. "Sonic, it's…!" Tails exclaimed.

"An exact replica…" Sonic continued.

Even Sara looked horrified. "It's another Metal Sonic!" she shrieked.

Shard and Metal just stared at each other until Robotnik gave a command to Metal. "Metal Sonic, attack!"

Metal, without hesitation, kicked Shard hard to the ground.

Shard grunted, but jumped back to his feet. He aimed his arm cannon at him and fired.

Metal dodged, flying towards Shard.

Shard caught Metal by the hands, both the two pushing each other. Metal used his booster, boosting himself as he pushed Shard at full-speed against the wall. Shard crashed through it.

Robotnik laughed, seeing his creation beating Shard. "That's it, Metal! Smash him!"

Shard dragged himself out of the wall, groaning.

Metal walked over to him, grabbing him by the throat and lifting him up.

Shard tried to pull Metal's hand away, but it was no use. Instead he aimed his arm cannon at Metal, but Metal grabbed his arm and ripped it off. Shard screamed.

"Shard!" Sonic yelled, pulling against the SWATBot's grip. It was no use.

Metal then flew upwards, throwing Shard down to the ground as hard as he could. He then fired a laser from his chest to finish him off. However, Shard was still active – just.

Shard couldn't even get up on his feet. His legs were no longer working with him. Instead he just lay there on his front. "I've failed…" he told himself.

Metal stood before his older model, putting a foot on top of him to claim his victory.

Robotnik laughed loudly. "Ho-ho! Metal Sonic is a success!" he exclaimed.

Metal was about to finish Shard, but Robotnik prevented him. "Not yet, my Metal Sonic. Leave him active for now. Let him witness the grand finale!"

"You wouldn't do such a thing, Robotnik, that's way too low for you!" Tails exclaimed.

"Oh, just watch me!" Robotnik replied.

Sara was slowly being lowered down to the lava.

"HELP!" Sara screamed.

Robotnik seemed to be watching Shard intensely, for some reason.

Shard glared back at him, then at Sara. He was the only one who could do something. He had to try and save her. If not, that would leave a bad message for everybody – there was no way he was going to be seen as weak. Shard then grabbed Metal's foot and pulled him so that he lost balance. He staggered to his feet and stumbled over to the lava tank, managing to use his boosters to fly up to it. However, on the count of seeing the lava, he seemed to freeze.

Robotnik watched this, grinning.

Metal was about to attack, but Eggman commanded him to not do anything.

"Shard! Save her!" Tails yelled.

Shard looked at him, then at Sara, who was crying her eyes out. He was unsure of what to do, and suddenly, his eyes switched off as he fell.

Sonic and Tails felt helpless, until a red echidna flew in quickly and caught him, landing. It was Knuckles.

"Knuckles!" Tails exclaimed happily.

Knuckles winked at Tails, smiling, but then climbed up the tank of lava. He jumped up and grabbed Sara, flying down with her.

"Yay! My hero!" Sara chirped happily, kissing Knuckles on the cheek.

Knuckles blushed.

Robotnik didn't seem bothered. "Hmph. My initial plan was to see if Hyper Metal Sonic would save Sara, but that plan failed. Oh well," he shrugged. "Until we meet again, Sonic. And this time, Metal will be targeting both Shard AND you!" Robotnik then fled with Metal, commanding the SWATBots to let Sonic and Tails go and also fall back.

Sonic carefully lifted Shard up while Tails picked up his arm.

"C'mon, lil' buddy. Let's get take Sara back to the president and let's get Shard repaired," Sonic planned.

"But Sonic, there isn't enough room on the plane," Tails stated.

"Then we're gonna need some help," Sonic confirmed.

"I'll call the president," Tails assured. "He can take Sara and Shard and we'll meet him back at the Presidential House."

"Sounds like a plan, Tails," Sonic agreed, turning to Knuckles. "You staying, Knucklehead?"

"I've got my own things to take care of, Sonic," Knuckles replied, running out.

"Bye!" Sara waved.

Tails then ran off to call the president via the Tornado.

Sonic looked at Shard. "Don't worry, buddy. We'll get you fixed."

**~End of Chapter~**


	5. Chapter 5: The Plan

**~Chapter 5: The Plan~**

"Ugh…" Shard groaned, sitting up. He found himself at the Presidential House, fully repaired, but still feeling groggy.

"Shard! It's good to see you're awake," Sonic smiled, looking relieved.

"Well, I feel like a truck just hit me…" Shard replied, rubbing his metallic forehead.

"Unfortunately it wasn't just a truck. It was a killer robot," Sonic corrected.

"Did you seriously _have _to remind me?" Shard questioned.

"Sorry," Sonic apologized.

The president then cleared his throat to get their attention, which succeeded. "Sonic, Shard, I need you both to focus," he began, not referring to Tails since he was already paying attention to what he was about to say. "Robotnik is trying to pose as a threat with his new and improved Metal Sonic. From what you've told me, Sonic, I believe that he wants Metal to defeat both you and Shard so that he has the advantage, and although he seemed as if he tried to harm my daughter, he may still want to marry her."

"Knuckles won't be pleased to hear that…" Sonic muttered under his breath.

"I need the three of you to find and destroy Metal before things get out of control," the president finalized.

"Don't worry, Mr President, we'll stop Robotnik before anything bad happens!" Sonic assured, putting up his thumb with his usual grin. "Come on Tails, come on Shard; let's do it to it!" The blue blur then sped out of the Presidential House, Tails following behind.

Shard jumped up to his feet and just began walking, before he was stopped by the president.

"Shard," the president started.

Shard turned around to face him. "Yes, Mr President?" he responded.

"Might I ask why you were afraid of the lava?" the president asked.

"Huh?" Shard reacted.

"Sara told me that when you were fighting Metal you froze upon seeing the tank of lava," the president recalled.

"…Lava melts metal, what can I say?" Shard asked rhetorically, shrugging with a smile. "I'll be going now, Mr President. See ya!" The black and yellow hedgebot then flew off to catch up with Sonic and Tails.

"Don't fail your mission, Shard!" the president shouted over the sound of Shard's boosters just before he had disappeared from sight.

…

"Okay, Sonic. The Tornado is read for take-off," Tails announced.

"Alright, lil' buddy. Let's just wait for Shard, first," Sonic responded.

Shard, as if on cue, had arrived. "I'm here, guys," he narrated.

"Okay, we're good to go," Sonic confirmed. He then looked at Shard. "By the way, while Tails was repairing you, he removed the mind connection we had."

"At last, I get to think without someone reading my mind," Shard chuckled.

Sonic chuckled with him, climbing on top of the plane. "Let's go, Tails!"

"Okay, Sonic," Tails replied, nodding as he piloted the Tornado into the sky, Shard flying beside it.

…

Robotnik had a perfect view of Shard on his large computer screen in his dark base. Metal was standing by his side with his arms folded. Robotnik let out a chuckle. "Well, Metal Sonic, it seems as if your "brother" has already been repaired," he stated.

Metal just stared at the screen angrily.

"Don't worry though, my murderous machine, you have the strength to take him on along with that wretched hedgehog!" Robotnik laughed. "And if somehow you fail to finish them, I have another plan in mind to get them both destroyed…" Robotnik grinned at the thought as he stroked his long moustache.

Metal looked up at his creator, unsure of what he meant.

Robotnik noticed the confusion in the hedgebot's unchanging expression. "One night you could easily bring Hyper Metal Sonic to me, and I could reprogram him. Once he destroys Sonic, I'll command him to self-destruct! My plan is ingenious!" Robotnik then bellowed out a loud laughter, as Metal just stared at the screen again, watching his "older brother" flying beside the Tornado with that smug grin on his face.

…

While flying, Tails felt turbulence in the plane. "Huh? This is odd…" he muttered.

"You feeling that, Tails?" Sonic asked, also feeling the turbulence.

"I think we're out of oil…" Tails replied. The Tornado's engine then suddenly stopped working. Nothing happened for a moment, until the Tornado suddenly began to fall nose-first to the ground, spinning.

"We're going to crash!" Sonic exclaimed, holding on to the wing. If he fell now it would be a long way down.

Shard flew down in front of the falling plane, holding his arms out. "No problem, you two! I'll…" He was cut off as the plane crashed right into him. Shard began using his boosters as he kept a firm grip on the front of the plane. His efforts only slowed the plane down a little bit, but he was unable to stop the plane from crashing. There was a loud explosion.

Tails and Sonic both coughed as they climbed out of the slightly-burning wreckage. They were covered in black soot. "Where's Shard?" Sonic asked.

A muffled voice could be heard. Sonic and Tails looked, seeing a pair of black and yellow metal legs sticking up from the sandy ground, kicking a little as if they were stuck. The pair ran over, Sonic grabbing one leg and Tails grabbing the other. They both pulled, struggling to yank the one stuck in the sand out. They tried again, and yet they still failed. One final time, and they both fell over when they managed to pull an undamaged Shard from the sand.

"Thanks…" Shard thanked, rubbing his head once he had landed in a sitting position after being pulled out of the ground.

"No problem…" Sonic replied, dusting himself off as he stood up. He pulled Tails up to his feet, who also dusted himself off, and then finally Shard decided to get up.

"Well, now we've got no plane, and I'm not working as any sort of 'public transport'," Shard clarified.

"We'll be fine," Sonic assured. "We've all got the speed to run to any place of hospitality – including our plane down on the beach. That also means we've got the speed to get to Robotnik's base, defeat Metal and then return to a relaxing life for a while. Easy!"

Shard knew that things wouldn't be as easy as Sonic claimed them to be, until he saw another plane on fire. He looked back at Sonic and Tails. "Uh… Guys? There's someone up in the sky that probably needs our help," he informed.

Sonic and Tails both looked up. "Oh no, not that old man again…" Sonic complained, looking fed up. "Shard, you're the only one who is in top condition right now. It's up to you to save him."

"I'm on it," Shard replied, flying upwards towards the old man's plane. He found the old owl inside, smashing the glass. Old Man Owl was in trauma, and seemed even more scared when he saw Shard. Shard just grabbed him and flew back down to where Sonic and Tails were – on the beach of another island from where the plane was, just inside the forest where some trees and flowers were. He safely placed the old owl down as he heard the explosion of the plane when it crashed into a mountain.

Since the old man was in trauma – as he is every time this happens, which has been a lot – Shard had to slap him across the face several times to help him snap back to reality. Old Man Owl jumped slightly before calming down.

"Old Man, what have I told you about piloting those things?" Sonic asked. "They're dangerous!"

"Sorry, Sonic, but my other plane ran out of fuel," Old Man apologized.

"Every time you come up with an excuse…" Sonic face-palmed, clearly tired of the same situation happening over and over again.

Shard, while they were talking, managed to identify the plane model. "You fly those kinda things?" he questioned. "Because from what my resources tell me is that the model has poor engineering and the assembly line for them was shut off shortly after they were introduced."

"That's what confuses me," Sonic stated. "How does he get so many when the assembly line was shut down years ago?"

"I'm not gonna bother asking," Shard replied. "After all, the old hoot doesn't know what day it is."

"Why were you even flying that thing anyway, Old Man?" Tails asked.

The old owl tried to remember, taking a while. In fact, so long that it bored the trio. Before they all fell asleep on the spot, they were startled when Old Man remembered. "Ohh, I remember now! Robotnik is planning an attack with Metal!"

All of the three fell down to the ground, groaning in frustration.

"How long did it take for you to figure that out?" Sonic asked. Before the old man was allowed to think, Sonic decided to stop him. "Wait, forget I said that!"

"So you flew all this way from wherever… In a dangerous plane model on fire… To tell us something we already knew?" Shard recapped.

"Probably," Old Man replied.

Shard sighed. He looked at Tails and Sonic. "I'm gonna drop him off where that plane wreck is," he stated. "You guys go back to Robotropolis – I'll meet you there shortly."

"You got it," Sonic replied. "Let's go, Tails!" Both he and Tails sped off to Robotropolis yet again.

Shard lifted the old man up. "Come on, feathers, let's drop you off back at your nest," he sighed, flying off.

**~End of Chapter~**


	6. Chapter 6: The Relation

**~Chapter 6: The Relation~**

"So, you're a friend of Mr Sonic's?" Old Man asked.

"Yes," Shard answered, keeping his focus on flying.

"Did Sonic ever say that you look like a robot?" Old Man questioned.

Shard just frowned. "Maybe I look like a robot because I am a robot," he responded.

"Hmm… You don't look like a robot," Old Man pointed out.

This just made Shard want to face-palm, but instead he just frowned again, not even bothering to answer as he continued flying.

…

Sonic and Tails were in Robotropolis, hiding in a sewer. Every now and then Sonic peeped up to see if he could see Shard. So far Shard couldn't be seen.

"What's taking him so long?" Sonic asked Tails.

"Old Man is giving him a hard time?" Tails guessed.

"Probably," Sonic agreed. "He gives us a hard time every time we see him. Especially when he rides in those planes. Well, let's just hope Old Man doesn't cause Shard to crash while on the way back. It could be a curse of his."

"Yeah," Tails nodded.

…

Shard landed outside the plane wreck. "Alright. Now go build a nest in a tree somewhere or something," he suggested, flying off after putting down the old man.

"Goodbye, Mr Robot!" the old man waved.

…

Shard arrived at Robotropolis, coincidentally landing on the sewer grate. "Sonic? Tails?" he called, glancing around, until feeling the grate beneath him move. "Huh?" Shard could hear muffled shouts as he looked at the moving grate, as if someone was underneath trying to get out. Shard flew off it, aiming his arm cannon and charging it, until seeing Sonic and Tails jump out.

"Whoa!" Sonic reacted, seeing Shard's laser. "Shard, were you going to shoot us with that?"

"Oh…" Shard responded, discharging his laser. "No, I didn't know you were under there. I thought you guys were SWATBots or something."

"Don't worry, I forgive you," Sonic assured. "Next time, try not to land where we usually hide."

Shard smiled. "I'll try not to," he replied.

"Alright, now let's get going," Sonic said as if trying to sound cool, speeding off. Tails flew after him, as did Shard.

The three arrived in Robotnik's base yet again, but this time they weren't going to the party – the party was going to them. Of course, the party was Metal Sonic.

Metal slowed down, landing about a meter away from them. He scanned all three, trying to identify his target.

_Miles "Tails" Prower…_

_No Target_

_Sonic the Hedgehog…_

_Target_

_Hyper Metal Sonic "Shard"…_

_Target_

_2 Targets – objective – eliminate_

_Backup objective – capture Hyper Metal Sonic for reprogramming_

Metal's irises blared as he readied for battle.

"Looks like he's not gonna give up without a fight," Shard stated, also preparing himself. "Trust me. I've gone down that route myself."

"Think you're ready this time, Shard?" Sonic asked.

"Could've done with some training, but I think I'm a little more prepared for what I might encounter while fighting this guy," Shard admitted.

"Alright. Shard, you take him from the left. I'll take him from the right. Tails, you back any of us up if we're struggling," Sonic planned.

"Got it," Tails and Shard said at the same time, both nodding once.

"Now!" Sonic signalled, rushing at Metal from the right as Shard took the left.

Metal didn't look either way, putting both arms to the side just before any of the two could reach him, halting them both. Sonic and Shard were still going at full speed, but Metal was still preventing them from reaching him without any effort. He suddenly leaped up and hovered above them, causing them to both to run into each other. Sonic saw stars while Shard just saw sparks, which were in fact visible to anyone looking at his robotic eyes.

Shard quickly managed to regain his focus, jumping to his feet and charging up his arm-cannon. He aimed at Metal, locking on his target. "Let's see how you like lasers, junior!" he exclaimed, firing. The laser beam knocked Metal to the ground.

Sonic sat up, noticing Shard gaining the advantage. "That's it, Shard! You can do it!" he cheered.

Shard flew towards Metal, grabbing onto him and continuing to fly at top speed into the wall. The force used to smash Metal into the wall caused the wall to cave in slightly. Before Metal could try fighting back, Shard punched him across the face, leaving a small dent and scratch. Due to his silent programming, Metal didn't even whir as a reaction to the hit. A reaction whir was similar to a grunt or yell of pain. Shard hit him again, this time across the other side, then tossing the newer model to the ground. "You were a good fighter, "little brother", but there is something I like to say to myself," Shard began as he walked over to Metal and grabbed him by the throat, lifting him up slightly. "Accept no imitations." Again, Shard tossed him to the ground, this time more harshly. His arm-cannon turned into a drill, approaching Metal and crouching beside him. Shard put the tip of his drill on Metal's chest. Metal clung to the drill, pushing it away slightly. Now that Shard had the advantage, Metal was the weaker one. "Sorry, little bro, but I've got to put you down before you hurt anybody," Shard confirmed, turning the drill on.

Metal stared at the drill, continuing to push it away. He wasn't going to go down this way.

"I'm not letting you hurt anybody!" Shard yelled. "Not the president, not Sonic, not Tails! This ends here! But let me tell you one thing, kid – Robotnik's the one to blame for me having to do this to you!"

Metal just looked Shard right in the eyes.

Shard returned the gaze, his eyes widening. Metal's eyes reminded him…

"_Go get them, Hyper Metal Sonic!"_

"_The last Sonic standing will be the winner!"_

"_You better get your hands off my Sonic!"_

"_Don't do it, Sonic!"_

"_He'll drag you under with him!"_

'_There is only one Sonic…'_

"_METAL!"_

Shard's drill switched off since he was no longer focusing on trying to drill through his younger brother.

"Shard! What are you doing? Now's the chance! Finish him!" Sonic commanded, shouting.

Shard didn't seem to have heard him. He just sighed, lowering his defence. Metal kicked him away to the ground as he got back up to his feet, walking over to his original with his red irises gleaming. Shard looked up at Metal. "If I let you win… You'll destroy Sonic…" he foretold.

Metal, in response, nodded once.

"Then I must finish you since you're not going to change…" Shard replied. He quickly aimed and fired at Metal, but Metal easily avoided. While Metal was avoiding, Shard flew to his feet and landed. "Let's take this outside, little bro," he said. "We'll have more space to fight, and we don't want any interruptions, do we?"

Metal was already making his way outside, smashing through the roof of the base as he flew off.

Before Shard could follow, he was stopped by his organic twin. "Shard, what do you think you're doing? You can't fight him alone!" Sonic stated.

Shard turned to look at him for a second, then looking back ahead of himself. "And you couldn't fight his original model alone," he responded, flying through the gap Metal left in the roof.

…

Shard caught up with Metal, the two robots landing in the city away from the base, facing one another from a few strides apart.

"Alright, then. Let's settle this, brother-to-brother, Metal-to-Metal," Shard announced, getting into a battle stance.

Metal also got into a battle stance, ready to fight. He waited for Shard to make the first move.

Shard charged up his arm cannon, firing directly and Metal. Metal knew this move was coming, avoiding with ease before teleporting behind Shard and kicking him forwards hard. After shard had hit the ground, he turned to look at Metal, shocked. "You can teleport?" he asked, taken by surprise.

Metal landed, his usual glare on his steel face. He launched his hand off his wrist towards Shard, hitting him across the face. Metal called the hand back, and it reattached itself to his wrist.

Shard got up to his feet slowly. "Okay… So you can teleport and fire your hand. I need to find something new within me…" he stated.

Metal folded his arms, attempting to be smug. His body language suggested that he'd be saying something like "Show me what you can do," or "Try me. See if you can do any better, you worthless first-model." It was more likely that he'd be saying the second line.

As if Shard knew what he was saying, he grinned. "I think I might have a few new tricks up my… arm," he stated, realising he had no sleeves. His cannon quickly let a large net fly out, catching Metal before he knew what was coming. Metal fell to the ground, looking up at Shard with his usual, glowing red eyes. Shard walked over to him, sniggering a little. "What's the matter, junior? Got yourself all tangled up?" he mocked. The only response from Metal was his glare, not changing. "Well, I guess that wraps things up for now," Shard continued, liking the puns he was coming out with. That was until Metal made his move, activating his Burst Shield. This caused the netting to incinerate. Shard's expression and emotion changed as he gulped.

Metal got back to his feet with no struggling, still having his gaze fixed on Shard. Shard laughed nervously. Metal, however, didn't look amused. "Well, I suppose I should just stick to using my plasma blasts," Shard announced, charging up his arm cannon. He fired at Metal, but Metal just avoided each blast. Once Metal had ran close enough to Shard, he teleported behind him. Shard expected this, turning to hit him across the head with his arm cannon, knocking him down to the ground. Metal fell down.

Shard let his guard down for a bit, crouching down beside Metal. "Hey, squirt, we're both going to be here for a little while, you know. Why not just settle this?" he suggested, holding out his hand. Metal looked at him as he sat back up. "Come on. Truce?" Shard asked.

Metal was in thought at the moment, but then took his hand, standing up with him. Shard smiled, thinking he had gotten through to his little brother, but Metal wasn't going to give up so easily. He did a 360 degrees spin without having to move his waist, keeping a firm grip on Shard and tossing him through the air and above some of the tall buildings. He flew after him, catching up with him quickly and heel-kicking him down to the surface of Robotropolis. Shard made a small crater in the ground when he crashed.

Struggling to get up, Shard groaned. He reached up quickly, rolling onto his side pathetically. He heard metallic footsteps approaching, quickly glancing over his shoulder. Metal was approaching him with his usual-paced walk. Once he arrived by his downed victim, he rolled him onto his back using his foot. Shard stared up directly at Metal. Metal stared down directly at Shard. He raised his fist, ready to punch through Shard's power gem, which he knew was the source of his energy. Shard was relying on his self-repair to kick in, but it didn't seem as if it would be any time soon. Instead he just braced for the impact of Metal's final blow, avoiding flinching, just gazing up at his younger brother. But Shard noticed that Metal was taking oddly long to attack. Was he malfunctioning? Was he running out of power? It didn't seem like anything like that.

"What are you waiting for…?" Shard questioned. "This is what you wanted, right…? You wanted to deactivate me for your creator… I shouldn't let you do this because I know you'll hurt Sonic and Tails, but this is your opportunity…"

Metal, however, only lowered his arm. He backed up slightly, before turning around and flying off. Shard watched him, confused. Until his auto-repair had complete, he just lied there. Once the repairing was done, he decided to get back to his feet, hearing Sonic and Tails approaching quickly.

"Shard! Shard, are you alright?" Sonic asked, sounding majorly concerned, skidding to a halt with Tails by his side. "What happened? Did you defeat him?"

Shard looked up at the dark sky, where Metal had flown off. "…No," he answered. "But… something weird occurred."

"Like what?" Sonic questioned, wanting to know as he was already slightly impatient.

"I'll explain later," Shard replied. "Let's just get some rest for now. I'm a little worn."

"Okay, then," Sonic agreed, running off with Shard and Tails.

But of course, Shard wasn't planning on resting tonight…

…And that was bad.

**~End of Chapter~**


	7. Chapter 7: The Capture

**~Chapter 7: The Capture~**

It was night time. Shard had pretended to enter sleep-mode and power down for the night, but once he could hear faint snoring from Sonic and Tails, he decided to switch on his green irises and get up. Perhaps tonight he could catch Robotnik off guard along with Metal Sonic. Robotnik would be asleep, and Metal would be shut down for the night. So the black and yellow hedgebot flew to a warp hole which took him to the Land of Darkness.

Upon arriving, Shard walked towards Robotnik's base cautiously. _'This guy really needs to relocate,' _he thought as he approached the large dome-shaped building within Robotropolis. While walking he had a split-second flashback of himself melting down in the lava, causing him to pull an uncomfortable expression. Shard shook his head quickly to shake the image away, reaching Robotnik's base. He smashed the wall down, entering stealthily. It was dark. Darker than it was outside. There were only the blinking LEDS on the control panels. Shard slowly stepped forwards, cautiously looking all around him. No signs of anything bad yet. This could be easier than he thought.

Suddenly, something grabbed Shard by the arms. Shard struggled. "Grn! Let go of me!" he demanded, trying to look back at his assaulter. He could see red irises looking into his red ones (they turned red after he reached the base) as the lights then switched on instantly. It was Metal Sonic.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't Hyper Metal Sonic, trying to be a hero by attacking the base on his own during the night," a familiar voice chortled. Shard growled, turning around and looking ahead of him. It was Doctor Robotnik. "There's something robots like you will never learn: you will never be hero and you will never cross me!"

"I'm more than you planned me to be, Robotnik!" Shard snapped. "And now I've been improved!"

Robotnik just laughed at Shard. "Bring him to my central laboratory, Metal Sonic," he commanded, walking off with his hands behind his back.

Metal began forcing Shard to follow, still holding his arms behind his back and having managed to disable his powers. He didn't react to his attempts of resistance. "You'll be sorry! Trust me, Sonic and Tails will find a way to defeat you!" Shard exclaimed as he was taken to the central lab.

Once they had arrived, Metal held Shard down on a metallic table under a bright light, Shard still trying to fight back. Shard violently struggled, growling loudly and angrily, close to screaming. He was somewhere between, really. Robotnik decided to fasten the brown leather straps around Shard's wrists and ankles. He managed to do that, and Metal had let go since his grasp was no longer needed now that the straps were keeping Shard down.

"Now then, let's see what your current programming is," Robotnik began, plugging a wire into the back of Shard's head and linking it up to the large computer screen above a control desk. He was able to access his database, looking through his settings. "Hmm… You are programmed with freewill, independence and goodness," Robotnik announced. "Nobody is your master, though. I think we can make a few alterations."

"I'm never going to serve you again!" Shard bellowed.

Robotnik could only snigger. "We'll see about that," he responded. "Shut him down, Metal Sonic."

Metal Sonic looked down at Shard, touching his power gem to shut him down. "NO!" Shard screamed before he was switched off.

…

It was morning now, as the sun had risen, so Sonic and Tails were obviously awake.

Sonic had decided to eat a plate of chilli dogs, sitting outside in the sun. He waited for Tails and Shard, since they needed to come up with a better plan than just running into Robotnik's base.

Tails then ran outside of the crashed aircraft. "Sonic!" he exclaimed.

Sonic turned to look at him. "What is it, lil' buddy?" he asked, about to eat another chilli dog.

"Shard… I can't find him anywhere! He's gone!" Tails revealed.

"What!" Sonic reacted, almost dropping his plate. That was when it hit him. "I bet he's gone after Robotnik on his own! Come on, we've gotta find him!"

"Sonic, wait, what if Robotnik gets us, too?" Tails asked.

"Tails, if Shard's gone on his own, he could be in danger!" Sonic reminded. "He's our friend, don't forget, and if he needs our help, we're going to have to be there!"

"Right," Tails nodded. "Come on, Sonic, let's find a warp hole that will take us to the Land of Darkness!"

Sonic quickly ate one more chilli dog, then running into the small kitchen of his home and placing the rest down for later, speeding off with Tails.

…

Shard was standing straight, looking ahead of him rather than Robotnik's face; Robotnik was in front of him with Metal by his side.

"Now then, in order to see if you are successful, you will have to answer some simple questions," Robotnik announced. "Here's your first question: What is your name?"

"My name is Hyper Metal Sonic," Shard answered emotionlessly, his expression still blank.

"Good. Now what do the heroes call you?" Robotnik questioned.

"The heroes call me Shard," Shard replied.

"Excellent," Robotnik chuckled. "And who is your master?"

"You are my master," Shard responded, still without any emotion or change in his expression.

Robotnik grinned evilly, liking the fact that Shard was giving the right answer each time. "So far you've answered all questions correctly. Now then, Hyper Metal Sonic, what is your objective?"

"I must destroy Sonic the Hedgehog…" Shard answered, his eyes narrowing slightly as he clenched his fists, sounding as if he was getting angrier.

"Correct," Robotnik snickered. "So to finish this off, tell me all that again."

"My name is Hyper Metal Sonic," Shard began, still staring straight ahead as he gained a little more emotion, but still sounded vacant. "The heroes call me Shard. Doctor Robotnik is my creator and my master and I will serve and protect him until I am deactivated. My objective is to destroy Sonic the Hedgehog!" He shouted the last part as he clenched his fists tighter, his irises brightening.

"Perfect! You are once again a success!" Robotnik announced, laughing evilly and loudly.

Metal just stared at Shard with his own blank expression, seemingly annoyed or angered.

…

Sonic and Tails were standing right outside Robotnik's base. Sonic turned to Tails. "Okay, Tails. Be prepared for anything when we get inside. Got it?" he asked.

"Got it," Tails acknowledged, nodding once.

"Good. Now in we go," Sonic replied.

"Sonic! Tails!" a voice yelled. Sonic Tails turned, looking up to see Knuckles gliding down from above.

"Knuckles!" Tails exclaimed happily.

Knuckles landed, his eyes on Sonic. "Again you're out here. You guys really are thrill-seekers, aren't you?" he asked.

"Hey, Knucklehead, we're here because Shard's in there!" Sonic responded snappily. "And we need to stop Robotnik and Metal before things get out of hand with them both!"

"Wait, who's Shard?" Knuckles asked.

"Hyper Metal Sonic," Sonic answered.

"How do you know he's not still working for Robotnik?" Knuckles asked.

"Knuckles, not now!" Sonic snapped. "Robotnik has built a new Metal Sonic which is different – improved! And Robotnik probably still wants to marry Sara, so we've got to stop him before he tries anything!"

"Another Metal Sonic?" Knuckles rhetorically asked. "This should be no problem! I'll give that bucket of bolts something to remember!"

Sonic looked at the hole in the wall caused by Shard when he entered earlier. "Let's go through there; it will be easier and we will have less chance of being detected," he planned, jumping through. Tails followed behind, and then Knuckles. Sonic looked back at them both. "Okay, guys. Remember to be quiet," he whispered, before he was knocked flying.

"Sonic!" Tails and Knuckles shouted, until they were also knocked over. They then saw that Metal Sonic had tackled them down, but they saw Sonic at Shard's mercy as Shard proceeded to choke him with one hand.

Knuckles pushed Metal away, running over to Shard and punching him hard, causing him to lose his balance and drop Sonic.

Sonic breathed heavily, rubbing his throat as Tails ran over and helped him up. "Sonic, are you alright?" he asked, worried.

"I-I'm fine, Tails…" Sonic replied, looking over at Shard once he got a hold of himself. Knuckles had retreated back to him and Tails.

Shard glared at them, grinning evilly as Metal stood by his side.

"Shard…" Sonic said sadly.

**~End of Chapter~**


	8. Chapter 8: The Union

**~Chapter 8: The Union~**

Sonic and Tails looked at Shard, both sad and shocked, while Knuckles just looked ready and aware.

"Shard… Why…?" Sonic asked, shaking his head slowly.

Shard laughed evilly. "You look upset, Sonic. Why is that? Is it because you don't stand a chance against us?" he asked mockingly.

"I told you he was still working with Robotnik!" Knuckles snapped at Sonic.

"No, something must've happened to him!" Tails protested. "Robotnik must have reprogrammed him or something!"

Sonic decided to snap out of his saddened state, shaking it off as he glared at Shard. "If he decides that he's working with Robotnik, then we have to stop him!" he announced, readying for battle.

Shard also readied for battle, as did Metal.

"Tails, Knuckles, I'll need you to back me up here. You take on Metal while I take on Shard," Sonic instructed.

The two just nodded, turning their attention to Metal, who also returned the look to them.

Sonic still remained eye-to-eye with Shard. "Okay then, Shard. If this is how you want it to be, then let's do this!" he shouted, jumping up and performing a Homing Attack. Shard was knocked back by the force, but it didn't take long for him to regain his balance. He rapidly fired plasma shots at Sonic. Sonic, being the speedy blue hedgehog he was, managed to avoid each shot with ease. "Come on, Shard, you can do better than that!" he taunted, until Shard fired a net at him from his multi-use cannon.

"Sonic!" Tails shouted, running to try and help him. However, Knuckles grabbed the young fox by the arm.

"Sonic can handle Shard on his own, we've got the other one to deal with!" Knuckles reminded.

Tails turned to face Metal, then at Knuckles, nodding. "Alright," he responded, trying to sound ready although he was a little worried.

Metal looked at them both. His scanners didn't identify any of them as a target. The only target he had now was Sonic, so he decided to fly over to where Sonic was.

"Hey! Get back here, you creep!" Knuckles yelled at Metal.

Shard looked at his brother once he had arrived by his side. "Take him to our master – I'll neutralize the other two," he instructed.

"Grr! Hey, I'm not done with you yet!" Sonic snapped, trying to pull the netting apart.

"Yes, you are," Shard corrected, hitting Sonic on the head with his cannon to knock him out.

"Sonic!" Tails bellowed, running at Shard and jumping onto his back to try tackling him down. "Leave him alone! He convinced me to revive you and this is how you repay him! Can't you see that he was your friend!"

Tails' attempts were nothing to Shard, as Shard just stood there, before he elbowed Tails in the face, sending him flying back into the wall.

"Tails!" Knuckles shouted.

Shard turned to Metal. "Take him now," he commanded.

Metal, in response, nodded, lifting Sonic up and flying out of the large room.

Shard then turned to Knuckles, seeing that he was tending to Tails.

"Tails, are you alright?" Knuckles asked, sounding a little worried.

"W-We have to save Sonic…" Tails responded.

Shard laughed when he heard Tails say that, causing the two to look at him. "How adorable: Sonic's little brother wants to be a little hero," he said sarcastically. He chuckled again. "Too bad your little dream won't come true."

Tails narrowed his eyes and gritted his teeth, trying to restrain his anger. However, he just had to let it out as he jumped to his feet. "I KNEW I SHOULDN'T HAVE BROUGHT YOU BACK!" he hollered, trying to fly at Shard. Knuckles, however, held him back.

"Tails, stop! You'll only get yourself hurt again!" Knuckles warned. "We have to work out a way to defeat him!"

Tails continued to fight against Knuckles' grip.

Knuckles quickly turned Tails around so that they were facing each other. "Tails, enough," he said, more calmly this time. "I think I know a way to stop him."

"How?" Tails asked, sighing as he calmed himself.

"Follow me," Knuckles replied, running off, followed by Tails.

"Hey! Get back here, you cowards!" Shard yelled angrily, flying after them.

Tails looked back as he flew behind Knuckles. "Uh, Knuckles, he's gaining on us…" he informed, sounding worried.

Knuckles quickly looked back for a brief moment. "Just keep up with me, Tails!" he recommended. "And don't look back anymore!"

"Okay…" Tails responded quietly.

The two were going through different rooms, until they entered one they had been in before. Knuckles turned to Tails. "Quick, get to the top of this lava tank!" he commanded.

Tails nodded, flying up to the top of the tank still filled with lava. He watched as Knuckles climbed up to the top.

"Hey, you! If you want to get us you'll have to come up here!" Knuckles shouted down to Shard.

"Knuckles, what are you doing?" Tails asked, panicking.

"You'll see," Knuckles responded.

Shard grinned. "You have no idea what you've just got yourselves into," he stated, flying up to them. When he saw the lava, he just froze, eyes wide.

"_Grab a hold of my hand!"_

"_He'll drag you under with him!"_

"_There is only one Sonic…"_

"_No! Don't!"_

"_Don't do it, Sonic!"_

"_METAL!"_

As all of this was going through Shard's head, Knuckles grabbed him by his legs. Shard tried to fly away, also hoping that the fire from his booster-feet would burn Knuckles' arms or face. However, Knuckles was just out of the flames' reach.

"Grn! Let go of me, you fool!" Shard demanded.

Knuckles turned his head to face Tails. "Tails, do you see that panel on the wall over there?" he asked, nodding his head in the direction of where a panel was.

Tails nodded. "Yeah. I see it," he confirmed.

"Go over to it and pull out the long thick silver wire from its place," Knuckles instructed.

"Okay," Tails replied, flying down from the top of the tank and to the wall panel. He opened the glass casing over the wiring, then tearing the thickest wire from its place. However, it was still attached to the control panel by one end. "Now what?" he asked.

"Fly over here with it and make sure the other end stays connected to the panel!" Knuckles instructed, still keeping a firm grip on Shard's ankles.

Tails flew over to Knuckles, handing him the still-connected wire. Knuckles quickly wrapped it around Shard, plugging the end of it into the back of his neck. Shard was just snarling, wriggling to try escaping from the wire coiled around him. His main goal was to try getting it off the back of his neck.

Knuckles then gave his final instruction to Tails. "Before he manages to escape, go back to that panel and flip the switch to turn it on."

"Wait, we're not going to kill him, are we?" Tails asked.

"Tails, he's just a robot. Besides, if we don't destroy him, he'll kill us both!" Knuckles reminded.

"But he's our friend…" Tails reminded.

"You brought him back to life and he returned to Robotnik's side. This thing is not your friend!" Knuckles finalized. "He's a killer robot, nothing more!"

Tails sighed, flying down to the control panel and flipping the switch. Shard was then being electrocuted, Knuckles letting go quickly to avoid getting shocked himself. Shard screamed as his circuits were being fried, his eyes flaring awkwardly.

…

Sonic was still knocked out and had been placed inside a glass tube.

"Once the little pest has awakened, I think we should give him something to remember," Robotnik sniggered. "But I just can't choose what he deserves."

Metal just stood with his arms folded, until he picked up Shard's screaming. He flew out of the room.

Robotnik watched him fly out, having not heard Shard. "Where are you going?" he called out to Metal.

Metal didn't respond, continuing to fly out of the room and towards the sound of Shard's scream.

…

Shard continued to scream, finding it difficult to move. All he could do was fall to his knees.

Tails didn't like watching Shard dying like this, so flipped the switch to stop the power.

Shard fell off the side of the tank, falling to the ground. He felt no energy to move at the moment, considering his circuits were close to being fried completely.

Knuckles jumped down, glaring at Tails. "Why did you turn it off?" he asked angrily.

"I couldn't, Knuckles!" Tails admitted. "Something's made Shard like this! How would you feel if you were being mind-controlled and we killed you!"

"I would feel more than that machine feels!" Knuckles answered.

"You don't know how Shard feels!" Tails argued.

Shard still lay where he was while the two were arguing, not listening to what they said. However, he heard footsteps approaching him. Then there was a shadow cast over him. He managed to weakly look up, seeing Metal looking down at him.

Metal took the wire out of the back of his neck and unwrapped it from his body, picking him up and flying out of the room unnoticed.

"I know that we can return Shard to his normal state!" Tails said loudly, until noticing Shard was gone. Knuckles turned around, also noticing.

"Where did he go?" Knuckles asked.

…

Metal returned to the smaller lab room where Robotnik was. Robotnik saw him enter with Shard in his arms.

"Urgh… I guess he still needs some improvement," Robotnik clarified. "He needs to be more like you. If I can't modify him, then I'll just destroy him."

Metal looked down at Shard, who was still in his arms. He didn't like the sound of that idea.

"What's the matter, Metal Sonic? Don't you want to destroy him?" Robotnik asked.

Metal didn't respond to his creator, deciding to lie Shard down on a repair surface and start fixing him.

…

Knuckles and Tails had found a computer which they used to contact the president with.

"Mr President? Are you there?" Knuckles asked.

The president appeared on screen. "Knuckles, Tails, is that a computer built by Robotnik you're using?" he questioned.

"Yes," Knuckles answered. "But we need to tell you something important. That Shard robot has gone back to working with Robotnik, and he caused Sonic to get kidnapped!"

"That's terrible!" the president reacted. "You two have to reach Sonic and rescue him fast! But I also need you to bring Shard back, too!"

"I knew that robot was bad!" Sara added angrily, pushing herself into the camera view. She smiled sweetly when she saw Knuckles. "Hey, my big hunk of an echidna!" she chirped happily.

"We'll try and get Shard, Mr President," Knuckles replied, not in the mood for sweet-talking to Sara. "But we'll rescue Sonic for sure!"

"Contact me once you've done," the president last said before switching off the link.

Knuckles turned to Tails. "Come on, Tails, let's head to where Metal took Sonic!"

**~End of Chapter~**


	9. Chapter 9: The Rescue

**~Chapter 9: The Rescue~**

"I still can't decide what to do with this little pest," Robotnik snickered. "Should I roboticize him or vaporize him?"

Metal ignored him, continuing to repair Shard. He noticed that the auto-repair had also burned out slightly, which is why it wasn't working. Metal figured that if he repaired that, he wouldn't need to do much of the work.

Sonic then began to wake up, groaning as he rubbed his head. "Urgh… What happened…?" he asked himself, opening his eyes. He gasped when he saw where he was, jumping to his feet.

Robotnik looked at him and chuckled. "Well, Sonic, I see you have woken up," he noticed.

Sonic saw Metal fixing Shard, glaring at Robotnik angrily. "What have you done to Shard, Robotnik!" he demanded to know.

Robotnik sniggered. "Oh, I only made a few adjustments," he chortled.

"Turn him back! And keep your metal-me away from him!" Sonic demanded.

"Are you forgetting that Shard is also a metal version of you?" Robotnik reminded, chuckling. "You're also forgetting that it was only seven years ago when you fought him to the death?"

"He destroyed himself once he turned good! He knew that the right choice was turning against you!" Sonic yelled.

"You might want to shut up, rodent, or else I'll roboticize you!" Robotnik warned.

Shard's auto-repair had been repaired, and had also completed repairing his damaged body, both inside and out. His green irises turned on, since he was not using his power gem, and he glanced around.

Metal looked at him from his distance as he leaned against the wall with his arms folded.

Sonic was also looking at Shard. "Shard!" he exclaimed.

Shard turned to Sonic, then smirking evilly. "At least we have the hedgehog," he spoke.

Sonic's eyes widened as he quietly gasped. "No…" he reacted quietly, his voice wavering in sadness.

Robotnik bellowed out a loud laughter. "Ha! It looks like you're wrong, Sonic! Hyper Metal Sonic is devoted to me now!" he finalized.

Sonic gritted his teeth and smashed his fist against the glass. "Stop calling him that!" he demanded.

"Does it honestly matter what I call him?" Robotnik retorted. "He's just a machine!"

Metal glanced over at his creator as he leaned against the wall with his arms crossed, taking that statement as an offence. He then turned his head so he was facing his black and yellow brother, who looked back at him. Shard just shrugged, not knowing why his younger brother looked so annoyed. After all, the statement was true.

Robotnik then continued his small statement. "And soon, you will be just like him," he finalized, grinning. Instantly Sonic, Metal and Shard knew what choice had been made, causing Sonic to widen his eyes and gasp, Shard to grin evilly and Metal to just stand and watch without any change in his expression. Robotnik reached his hand towards the control panel, about to press a large red button which stood out from all the others, until he heard a laser blast at the door. He, Sonic, Shard and Metal all looked in the direction of the door, seeing Tails and Knuckles there, Tails holding a black laser gun which was smoking since it had just been fired.

"Grr! Have you pests not given up yet!" Robotnik growled.

"It'll be a long time until we give up, Robotnik!" Knuckles answered confidently.

"Metal Sonic! Shard! Get rid of these pests!" Robotnik commanded, calling Shard by his current name.

The two robotic hedgehogs got ready for battle.

Before anything, Tails shot the control panel Robotnik was standing by, deactivating it so none of the controls worked. Robotnik was enraged, but made his quick escape as Sonic was freed from the capsule he stood in. Sonic then did a Homing Attack to the back of Shard's head, causing him to whir for a bit before falling to the ground. The blue hedgehog then ran to Tails' and Knuckles' side, ready to take on Metal. Metal glared at them angrily, waiting for them to make their move.

Tails aimed his laser, locking onto Metal and firing. However, Metal was smart and had managed to avoid the blast. He didn't focus much on Tails or Knuckles; he mainly focused on Sonic. Sonic grabbed Metal by the arms, struggling to keep hold of him, but looked at Tails.

"Tails, fire!" he ordered.

Tails quickly aimed and fired at Metal as Sonic jumped out of the way. The setting was on beam setting now rather than pulse, so it pierced straight through Metal. Metal had a rather odd look in his emotionless expression, almost as if he was shocked or struggling to find a way to react. He had stopped, then he stumbled, and finally he fell to his knees, holding his chest. The beam had gone through his engine, causing serious internal damage, and soon Metal had fallen on his front, eyes switching off.

"Nice shot, buddy," Sonic complimented, giving a 'thumbs-up' to Tails as he smiled.

"Thanks," Tails thanked, smiling back.

Knuckles lifted Shard up and put one arm over his shoulder. "Sonic, could you get the other arm?" he requested.

"Sure thing, Knuckles," Sonic replied, also putting one of Shard's arms over his shoulder. He and Knuckles then walked out of the base with the knocked-out Shard, Tails following behind.

However, Metal had not gone down so easily. One of his red irises switched on as he watched Sonic leave with Shard. He knew that Sonic was going to do something to him. Metal wanted to do something, but he couldn't. Not only because of his critical internal damage, but because he simply was not programmed to make his own choices. Even if he somehow managed to disobey Robotnik, there was a back-up plan such as a kill-switch or a self-destruct button.

…

The three friends returned to the Presidential House, dropping Shard onto the floor. The black and yellow robot was still out.

"Mr President, we managed to rescue Sonic," Tails informed. "And we managed to bring Shard back. Right now he's shut down, though."

"As for Robotnik?" the president asked.

"He retreated from the scene after he was about to roboticize Sonic," Tails answered.

"But we managed to stop Metal," Sonic added. ""I doubt we'll be seeing him in a while." He then laughed a little in his usual cocky way.

Shard groaned as he began to awaken, sitting up and rubbing his head. He had an uncomfortable look on his face, as if he had been forced to wake up incredibly early. His power gem was green, meaning it was not in use, and when he allowed his irises to switch on, they were also green.

All the attention was then on Shard as he looked at everyone, confused. "How'd I get here?" he asked.

"Shard, I need a word with you," the president stated.

**~End of Chapter~**


	10. Chapter 10: The Decision

**~Chapter 10: The Decision~**

Sonic, Tails, Knuckles and Sara had to leave the room while the president spoke to Shard.

"Shard, I need you to tell me what exactly happened," the president began.

Shard, giving no eye-contact, sighed as he decided to answer. He was now standing on his feet, but his head was hung. "I tried to attack Robotnik by surprise in the night, but I was expected," he explained. "Robotnik and Metal took me to the laboratory and reprogrammed me back to their side."

"I've heard Knuckles say something about your working with Robotnik 'again'," the president confirmed. "Which means that you were originally one of his own creations."

Shard nodded shamefully, still staring at the ground. "I was supposed to destroy the Land of the Sky," he admitted.

"The only robot who has ever threatened to destroy the Land of the Sky was Metal," the president corrected. "That was seven years ago, and that Metal was destroyed."

Shard then looked up at the president with a sad and guilty look on his face, not saying anything.

That was when the president realised it. "Impossible…" he gasped, his eyes widening. "But how can this be?"

"Knuckles found my remains and heard my chip whirring," Shard answered, looking down again. "He gave it to Tails. Sonic persuaded Tails to build be a new body for me, and my data had to be supported by this power gem, which has probably got all of my data inside it now. The computer chip is pointless."

"Why would Sonic want to repair you after you tried to kill him and destroy the Land of the Sky?" the president questioned, confused.

"Because I changed," Shard responded, a face of realisation as he lifted his head up slightly in thought, not really looking at anything. "I became overloaded with Sonic's personality and knew that I wasn't doing the right thing." He then looked back up at the president. "Remember when I saved your life?"

The president remembered this. He didn't even get to say thank you for that.

Shard continued as the president recalled the moment. "I also saved Old Man Owl's life. And in doing so, I…" he trailed off, seeing what happened afterwards as if he was reliving it. However, he continued to speak. "I fell down into the lava. At first I wanted to be saved, desperate to get out. Sonic tried to save me, but as I was about to reach for his hand, I realised that I would be a problem. My connection to Sonic would have affected us both, and I may have started malfunctioning again. If I had been saved, Robotnik would have found me and either would have destroyed me or reprogrammed me with perfect improvements."

The president was listening to Shard, feeling sorry for him.

"I couldn't have lived," Shard continued, looking down again. "After all, I knew that I wasn't like them. I was just a robot. A powerful, unfeeling… robot." Shard looked at his hands when he said the last sentence, realising that he hadn't really changed at all. He was ashamed of himself, sighing as he dropped his arms back down to his sides. "That's why I'm so afraid of lava, Mr President," he finalized. "Because I'm really Hyper Metal Sonic, the monster who died within it."

There was a silence for a moment, before the president decided to speak up. "You say you're unfeeling," he acknowledged. "But if you are unfeeling, how is it that you feel fear? How is it that you feel the need to be a hero? How is it that you care for others instead of yourself?"

Shard realised that the president was right. If he was just a robot who only had power and no feeling, how could he feel the urge to stop Robotnik and Metal? How was he so afraid of the lava? How was he so protective to his friends?

"You're capable of much more, Shard," the president continued. "But there are possibilities that you could change again. I can't risk you hurting anyone."

"I understand…" Shard sighed sadly.

"You may leave now," the president ended. "Oh, and send Sonic, Tails, Knuckles and Sara back in."

Shard nodded, walking to the door in a shameful way and opening it, leaving the room. He saw the four waiting outside and told them that they were needed. "The president wants you all in there."

Sonic just nodded. "Okay. You just head on home, Shard."

"I will," Shard replied glumly, leaving the building and then flying off back to South Island.

Sonic and the three walked back into the office, where the president was waiting.

"Sonic, I've made my choice," the president stated. "Shard is still a high threat, and this isn't the first time he's done damage. I still count what he did as Hyper Metal Sonic."

Sara gasped, then had an angered look. "I KNEW he was evil!" she exclaimed.

"But we're giving him another chance, right, Mr President?" Sonic asked. "Both times were not his fault."

"I'm sorry, Sonic. He's going to have to be deactivated," the president announced.

A gasp came from Sonic and Tails.

"What? No, we can't do that! Shard's our friend!" Sonic disagreed.

"Sonic, there is no other choice," the president said. "Tomorrow bring him back here and down into the base room. Remove his power core and I'll find something to do with his body."

Sonic was in a huff, speeding out.

"Sonic! Wait!" Knuckles shouted, running after him, Tails flying beside him.

…

Metal heard footsteps approaching him, not even bothering to look at who it was. He knew it was his master, anyway.

Robotnik rolled Metal onto his back, seeing that he was still active, also surveying the damages. "It looks like I need to strengthen your defence system," he stated. "Especially from the inside. Come with me, Metal Sonic." Robotnik then began walking out.

Metal staggered to his feet, regaining his balance as quick as he could. He then stumbled a little as he followed his creator, unable to walk straight.

…

Shard was sat waiting for Sonic to return with the other two, watching as the sun began to set. He then heard Sonic as he came in fast, speeding across the sand and soon into the aeroplane. Tails and Knuckles followed him inside. Did none of them notice that Shard was sat on the beach outside?

The former Hyper Metal Sonic carefully got up to his feet, walking over to the entrance silently. He then entered the crashed flying machine, finding the area the other three were in. He pressed his back against the metallic side of the plane, deciding to listen in to their conversation.

"Sonic, if his threat levels are high he is likely to do some more damage," Tails admitted. "He's done too much already, and we can't risk him destroying anything else."

"What he did as Hyper Metal Sonic doesn't count!" Sonic snapped. "Shard's a good guy; he wouldn't do anything to hurt anybody on purpose!"

"He still has the same mind he had seven years ago," Tails reminded.

Sonic paced around, annoyed.

"Sonic, you gave him his chance, and he blew it," Knuckles finalized. "Even if what he did _was_ an accident, he was still dumb enough to try something he couldn't do on his own. He's out-dated and he's not functioning properly! He's got to go!"

Shard widened his eyes, horrified at what they were saying, but then he just sighed and walked in the room. The three saw him enter, unaware that he had heard everything.

"Shard, we thought that you were outside – we didn't hear you come in, buddy," Sonic said, trying not to look suspicious.

"I heard everything," Shard said sadly, looking down at his feet.

The three looked at each other. Sonic then stepped forwards, resting his hand on Shard's shoulder, causing Shard to look at him.

"Listen, Shard. I believe that everything you did was out of your control," he began. "But the decision has been made." Sonic then sighed sadly before he made the announcement to Shard. "…You're going to have to be decommissioned."

Shard looked down again, turning his head away. "I understand…" he muffled. He then turned around slowly and sluggishly, leaving to his own room and locking the door once he was inside.

Knuckles stopped as he was walking by Sonic, looking at him. "It's the right choice, Sonic. We couldn't risk him turning bad again." The red echidna then left the plane.

Tails and Sonic both then headed to their separate rooms, locking themselves inside. Sonic fell onto his bed, staring up at the ceiling. "What have I done…?" he asked himself, regretting the fact that he had accepted to have Shard deactivated.

**~End of Chapter~**


	11. Chapter 11: The Deactivation

**~Chapter 11: The Deactivation~**

The day had arrived quicker than Shard wanted it to. He was already awake, not daring to leave his room. He admitted it to himself – he was scared. For robots, there was no believed "life after death". Organics believed that they went to a "better place" or that they were reborn into a new body, robots believed that their bodies were used for scrap, maybe being turned into a toaster.

No, they didn't believe that - that was true.

Shard then let out a large sigh, unlocking his door and leaving the room. He could somehow feel a coldness surrounding him, and felt himself crying on the inside. The only area which he could say was "safe" was his room, since he could just walk in and lock himself inside. The rest of the surrounding made him feel like he was walking through a pack of wolves' den.

Since he hadn't seen the other two yet, Shard decided to go and sit on the beach for a while and watch the waves. The soothing sound enabled him to think as he switched off his irises. He remembered everything he did in his past.

'_I wasn't born to be a hero…' _he thought to himself, remembered the day he was being created. _'I was born to cause destruction and devastation, rivalling with the world's hero, Sonic…' _Shard then remembered the day he was activated properly, awakening before Sonic's eyes and soon standing face-to-face with him. _'I was so close to destroying Sonic; I thought I had done it!' _He then recalled when he beat Sonic in his first fight, until he realised what he felt like at that point. _'…And when I thought I had defeated him, I gained much satisfaction…'_

Shard switched his eyes back on, looking down at the sand shamefully. "I guess they're making the right choice…" he admitted. "I'm not their friend… I was created to be their enemy…"

"…I wish I had never been created in the first place…"

…

Metal had returned from his repair chamber. He didn't look different in appearance, but he had new properties.

"Successfully repaired! Ho ho, I am a genius!" Robotnik bragged proudly.

Metal just looked at his creator vacantly.

"It seems that laser beams were an issue to your design," Robotnik stated. "No doubt that fox boy would use the same one again since he has stolen it. So now your outer-armour is made up of a much denser alloy and you have a Diamond Shield to activate when you're under attack."

Metal looked at his hand, turning it 360 degrees and then clenching it and straightening it again. He felt the same, but if he had those new properties added to him, then he'd be unstoppable. He also thought that with denser outer-armour he would have much more affective punches and kicks, and maybe if he headed-butted someone they'd be knocked out.

"Now that you've been upgraded, go after those meddlesome beings and bring them to me!" Robotnik commanded, laughing loudly.

Metal flew out of the base in response.

…

Shard sat in silence, waiting for Sonic to come out and say to him: "Come on, Shard, we're going to deactivate you now," or maybe even say: "Hey, Shard, good news, buddy! You don't have to be deactivated!"

The second one was highly unlikely. Sonic and Tails were probably awake by now, discussing what they were going to do. Or maybe they were still asleep.

After a few more minutes of sitting in silence and listening to the waves, Shard heard a new sound in the distance coming his way. A rather familiar booster. Shard's irises and power gem went red as he got up to his feet, turning around to his left and looking into the sky. He saw Metal Sonic approaching fast.

'_Maybe if I defeat this guy, I can prove that I'm not as dangerous as they think I am!' _Shard thought, preparing for a fight.

Metal landed onto the ground, glaring at Shard with bright red irises. He approached him on foot at an average walking pace. Shard kept his guard up, ready to battle him.

"So, you still want to destroy me, huh?" he asked. "Come and get some!"

Metal stopped walking, standing still. He tilted his head.

Shard lowered his guard a little. "Hey, little bro, you in there?" he asked. "I know you're here to fight, so bring it on!" He brought his guard up again.

Metal returned his head to its usual position. He knew that his objective was to fight and destroy Shard, but for some reason, he didn't want to.

Shard remained confused. "What's the matter? Having trouble remembering how to fight?"

Metal bleeped, as if he was… speaking. He sounded like Shard when he was Hyper Metal Sonic.

It wasn't hard for Shard to understand him. "Wait… you _don't _want to destroy me?" he repeated, baffled.

Metal nodded.

Shard just sighed. "Listen, bro, you can't be here," he stated. "To them, you're a mindless fighting machine sent to eliminate them. They won't accept you – they don't even accept _me_ anymore..."

Metal made another bleeping sound.

Shard sighed. "They see me as a high threat," he answered, turning back to having green irises and a green power gem.

Again, Metal made more bleeping sounds.

"I can't join you, that would get us both in trouble," Shard responded, a little annoyed. He then calmed down. "…Just go. Find someone who'll accept you – these guys won't."

Sonic and Tails then came outside, seeing Metal, gasping.

"It's Metal Sonic!" Tails exclaimed, pointing.

Metal sharply turned his head towards them, irises brightening as he became angry.

Sonic and Tails ran towards him.

Shard ran in front of Metal to defend him, also to block the fight from happening. He spoke to Metal while his eyes were locked on the other two. "Get out of here – now!"

Metal just flew off at a high speed.

Sonic stared at Shard angrily. "So you're joining them now, are you?" he guessed. "I guess you always will be evil!"

Shard just sighed shamefully. "You're right, Sonic, I always will be evil," he agreed. "I shouldn't care for Metal, should I? I should just ignore him and mercilessly destroy him."

"Did you call him here, Shard? Did you call Metal to come and destroy us!" Sonic demanded.

"No," Shard answered calmly. "He was sent to destroy me and you, but he didn't want to."

"If he hasn't got my life data, then he's just a mindless robot," Sonic stated. "He can't think for himself!"

"How would you know, Sonic?" Shard asked. "You're not a robot, but I am."

Sonic let out a sigh. "Look, I was just worried that you were trying to join Robotnik again," he admitted.

"I wouldn't do that," Shard assured. "I don't want to hurt any of you guys, and if being deactivated is the safest thing to do, then so be it."

Sonic put his hand on Shard's shoulder. "If I'm honest, I don't want to do this to you," he admitted. "But it must be done."

"I know," Shard replied, looking down. "Let's just get this over with…" He then flew off towards the Presidential House.

Sonic sadly got into Tails' plane and they flew off with Shard.

…

The three arrived at the Presidential House, heading inside. Shard walked as he looked straight ahead of himself, fearful. He felt his fear quickly rising and just wanted to throw up, but he couldn't.

Once the president had taken them to the base room, Shard couldn't hold it much longer. He collapsed onto the floor, unable to take the thought of being deactivated anymore, but was brought back to his feet by Sonic and Tails and led to the table at the back of the dark blue room. Shard lied down, watching as Tails began working on removing his power gem core.

Sonic knelt beside Shard, feeling guilty. "I'm gonna miss you, buddy…" he admitted.

"I tried, Sonic…" Shard responded sadly. "I just didn't try my hardest…"

"Shard, we'll get Robotnik for what he has done to you," Sonic assured. "Maybe one day we'll see each other again."

"Maybe…" Shard replied. "Goodbye, Sonic..."

Tails had successfully removed his power gem.

Shard suddenly felt his body fall limp as he was no longer able to move it, he looked around with his now-grey irises, seeing the world around him… fading. The sounds around him began to fade out, and he felt his thoughts and memories slipping away from him. His eyes then switched off completely as he just lied there.

Sonic stood up, looking down sadly. "Shard…"

Shard's red power gem was stored away somewhere safe, but his body remained where it was. Sonic and Tails had left, both feeling guilty and down, getting into the Tornado and returning home. They now had one thing on their mind: stop Robotnik.

…

Outside the Presidential House, Metal was just floating in the air. He had seen Sonic and Tails leaving, knowing that Shard was still in the building. The titanium hedgehog searched for any data on Shard, and he was classed as offline. Metal's irises brightened angrily as he realised that Shard had been deactivated. For the first time, Metal was about to make a choice on his own, which was rather risky. However, he felt like he had to do the choice he was about to make.

**~End of Chapter~**


	12. Chapter 12: The Brotherhood

**~Chapter 12: The Brotherhood~**

Sonic and Tails had arrived back at their usual place on South Island, heading inside. Suddenly, Sonic flipped.

"Why did we do it!" he shouted, punching his fist into the wall. "Why did we do it, Tails! What drove us to do that to our own friend!"

"Sonic, he… We had to!" Tails responded. "We couldn't take any risks!"

"What risks!" Sonic demanded. "He didn't turn on us on purpose! Robotnik made him do it! And when he was in his old body, it didn't count!"

Tails fell silent.

Sonic tried to calm himself down by taking in a few deep breaths. "Come on; I'm going after Robotnik." The blue blur then sped out.

Tails flew off after him.

…

Metal landed by the side of the Presidential House. Since he still had an aggressive nature, he smashed the wall with one punch, breaking in. He was instantly detected by the president, who had alerted his security about the assault. Lock-down doors began closing in front of Metal, but the blue robot had much speed, easily flying under them before the closed completely.

Eventually Metal had reached the base room, seeing Shard's lifeless body. He was angered to see such a sight as he flew over, landing beside the table at the back of the room. The power gem… where could it be? Metal switched on his scanners and attempted to find the object, then noticing it inside a cupboard at the side of the room. He flew over quickly, opening the cupboard, spotting it on one of the shelves which had helmets for the security crew. He picked up the jar it was inside and opened it, carefully taking out the power gem and putting the jar back, closing the cupboard. The titanium hedgehog flew back over to Shard's side.

Metal carefully placed the power gem shard inside Shard's chest, waiting. Nothing happened. Metal tilted his head to the side, shortly straightening it again. He had placed the gem in correctly, so Shard should've been reactivated.

"Freeze!" Metal heard. He turned around, seeing some security guards aiming their guns at him. Metal's irises blared.

Slowly the guards approached him, cautious and aware that he might make a move. Metal watched every one of them. His body had a much denser alloy now, so he knew that bullets would only ricochet off him. Metal charged up his engine as the guards took aim, flying past them at high speed. They fired, but their bullets were no use. Metal exited the room, flying through the hallways and breaking through the ceiling, leaving the Presidential House. He looked back one last time, feeling… feeling something about leaving Shard, but decided to continue back to his master's base.

…

Sonic and Tails were facing Robotnik, having found him within his base.

Robotnik chuckled a little, then grinning. "What happened to your friend Hyper Metal Sonic?" he asked in a mocking tone of voice.

Sonic just growled, narrowing his eyes.

"Did he get destroyed?" Robotnik continued to taunt. "Did you find that he was too Sonic-like for you and had to deactivate him?"

"Enough, Robotnik! We came here to stop you, and we WILL stop you!" Sonic shouted confidently.

"Oh really, Sonic?" Robotnik questioned. "Well, when Metal Sonic gets here he will eliminate you!" He then burst out laughing, as usual.

"Where exactly is he, anyway?" Sonic asked, folding his arms.

At that moment, Metal had entered through the base doors, standing a few feet behind Sonic.

"Closer than you think, Sonic," Robotnik grinned.

Sonic didn't understand what Robotnik meant, until he realised it, turning around, only to be punched in the chin upwards into the air by Metal Sonic.

Robotnik laughed as he watched.

Tails still had the laser which he had stolen, firing at Metal. He found that it barely did any damage. "What?" he reacted, looking at his laser gun.

"It's no use, fox boy!" Robotnik chortled. "Metal's design has been improved! He is no longer vulnerable to lasers!"

Tails gulped, staring at his laser, then at Metal, who was now approaching him angrily.

Sonic, having recovered from the sudden attack he received, looked over at his best friend. He sped towards Metal, jumping up. "I knew you didn't have a mind of your own like Shard did!" he exclaimed, performing a Homing Attack.

Metal turned and kicked Sonic away as if he was a football. He wasn't bothering with Tails since he was still a target. However, Sonic got up and battled more, not going to give up easily. He ended up lower in the base from being smashed through the floor and smashed through some walls – maybe even ceilings – until he found himself in that one room Shard hated: the room where Robotnik stored lava which he may have needed for traps.

Both blues battled it out with each other again. At some point Sonic kicked Metal into some piping, damaging it, but neither of them took notice of the damaged pipe.

The fight lasted a while, until both were a little out of energy as they tried to regain their strength. Metal was quicker and gaining back his energy.

"You're getting better, Metal…" Sonic admitted, grinning.

Metal just acknowledged that point.

…

Robotnik heard a bleeping on his computer, activating the screen: highly dangerous damage in the lava storage room. The main pipe had been damaged and there was going to be an explosion.

Quickly, Robotnik activated the intercom for that room. "Metal! Get out of there at once! It's about to explode!" he shouted down it.

Tails didn't react so well to that. "Sonic!" he yelled.

…

Metal heard the transmission, immediately heading out of the room at maximum speed. Sonic had also heard it – no wonder the heat was so intense in there. He sped off ahead off Metal, knocking him down with a Homing Attack in the process.

…

Sonic had almost escaped while Robotnik got away in his escape pod again. But the base…

Kaboom.

The two were forced forwards by the impact, crashing onto the ground. They were sweating and coughing, smoke all over the place.

"We… We got out…" Sonic panted.

"Yeah… Yeah, we did…" Tails agreed, also breathing heavily.

Just then, a figure was emerging from the smoke. A robotic hedgehog with red irises.

Sonic narrowed his eyes. "He's… He's still alive…" he breathed.

Tails also looked, seeing the figure. Instead, he widened his eyes rather than narrowing them.

The figure approached closer and closer, until finally it was fully in view. "…Sonic?" he asked.

Sonic's expression changed, having the same as Tails. "…Shard?" he asked, surprised.

The black and yellow hedgebot smiled. "In the metal," he responded.

"But… how?" Sonic questioned.

"Even I don't know," Shard sighed. "It took me a while to convince the president to let me go, but hey, I'm-a-here."

"That's great, but… We all need to get outta here… Robotnik and Metal have been defeated for now…"

"Wait, what happened to Metal?" Shard asked, sounding concerned.

"The base exploded… Robotnik escaped, but Metal is inside… Probably destroyed…" Sonic answered.

Shard widened his eyes, gasping quietly. He immediately checked Metal's status – online. Then he checked the base – aftershock about to happen in three minutes. "I've got to go in there after him!" Shard exclaimed.

"Why…?" Sonic asked. "He tried to kill us, remember…?"

"No, he's not the same anymore!" Shard argued, until realising that the president mentioned something to him about Metal breaking in the presidential house and being near his body. Of course, Metal brought him back!

Instantly, Shard flew into the flaming base remains, flying down to the lower parts as fast as he could. He saw Metal in the corner of the destroyed room, lava flowing towards him from the tank which had been ultimately destroyed. He began panicking again, freezing in fear. He could see it all happening again… He could see Metal there wanting to be rescued, but before he could get saved, he refuses and lets himself melt in the lava. No, this wasn't going to happen again. However, it continued to haunt Shard. He even remembered his thoughts.

"_Grab a hold of my hand!"_

"_There is only one Sonic…"_

"_No, don't!"_

"_METAL!"_

Shard's red irises were small as he remembered this. Over and over it came back to him, but he had to conquer it, and that time had to be now. He shook his head and his irises returned to normal as he now wore a face of bravery. The black and yellow robot flew down, hovering above the lava. The red hot, burning, deadly, fiery, molten lava…

Ignoring the horrifying memories and thoughts, Shard held out his hand to his younger brother, who was surprisingly not damaged. He must have used his Diamond Shield upgrade before the explosion occurred. However, the lava was getting closer to his feet.

"Brother! Grab my hand!" he shouted over the sound of his boosters.

Metal looked up at him, his booster a little broken from the fight with Sonic.

Shard still had his hand extended out to Metal. "Just grab it… Don't you even think about letting yourself get destroyed!" he commanded. "I may have been brought back, but that doesn't mean you're going to come back, as well!"

Metal looked down at the lava, then up at Shard. He reached his hand out, stretching it as far as he could in an attempt to grab Shard's hand.

Shard also stretched his as far as he could.

Metal had almost reached it…

Shard had almost reached it…

Metal pulled back.

Shard looked at him with a dead-serious look, also a little worried. "Don't," he ordered. "Don't deny being rescued. I did the same thing and trust me, it's not what you want! We are brothers, Metal Sonic; I was like you once, and I became this. You can become something, too!"

Metal was in thought, the lava now melting his feet a little.

"Please…" Shard said, trying to sound calm. "Take my hand, Metal. Come with me, brother."

Metal had a few more seconds of thought, then grabbing hold of Shard's hand.

Shard lifted him up, flying out of the remains with him. The second explosion was about to occur, and it was going to be worse than the first one, extending further. But Shard had to make it…

He had to save his brother.

**~End of Chapter~**


	13. Chapter 13: The Aftershock

**~Chapter 13: The Aftershock~**

"Come on, Shard, where are you…?" Sonic asked himself, tapping his foot as he looked around with his head.

"Sonic, it's almost been three minutes!" Tails informed, panicking. "We've gotta get outta here!"

"Not without Shard," Sonic replied. "He's our friend, Tails."

…

Shard checked the time, seeing that three minutes were just about to pass. He tried to increase his speed over his maximum limit, causing his own legs to melt. "We're almost there, just hold on!" Shard exclaimed.

Metal noticed Shard's feet melting. That was bad – if Shard's feet melted, his boosters would stop working.

Shard saw ahead the clearance from the smoke and flames, also detecting Sonic and Tails still there. They were waiting for him. _'I've got to make it…' _he thought, until he heard his boosters spitting and fizzing. He began to lose his balance, dropping at times, but somehow managing to regain himself – just.

Shard realised that he couldn't make it like this.

2:50

Seeing the time, Shard knew that he had no time to save himself and Metal, so got ready to throw him.

Metal looked at Shard, confused.

"Save yourself," Shard commanded, throwing Metal as hard as he could.

Metal bleeped loudly, then crashing to the ground in front of Sonic and Tails. He looked back, seeing Shard floating there unbalanced. Sonic and Tails also looked at him, until…

Metal quickly used his Diamond Shield to protect himself and the other two as an explosion occurred again. This time it was much louder.

KABOOM!

Smoke surrounded the shield, until Metal decided to take it down.

"Shard!" Sonic hollered. The explosion looked like some kind of volcanic eruption, and all that was left now was a large crater where the base used to be. Lava bombs rained down around the area. Sonic, however, ignored them, running to the crater and looking down it. Shard was still there, extremely damaged, lying on the side, unable to climb up. The black and yellow hedgebot looked up weakly, seeing Sonic.

Sonic jumped down the crater, looking as if he was surfing, until digging his fingers into the crater's wall, close to Shard, who was surrounded by lava once again.

Shard attempted a smile as he looked at Sonic. "…Here we are again… Right, Sonic…?" he asked.

"You're not going to die this time, Shard!" Sonic confirmed. "This time I'm going to save you, okay?"

"Sonic, you can't save me…" Shard responded. "You'll only end up killing yourself…"

"Don't say that, Shard! I promise, you'll be fine!" Sonic promised. He then slipped a little, quickly reassuring himself.

"Just go…" Shard muttered.

"I'm not leaving you!" Sonic yelled.

"You must…" Shard replied.

"You're not going to be destroyed this time!" Sonic shouted. "Just grab my hand! I'll save you!"

Shard tried to reach for Sonic's hand, his energy low. He couldn't reach.

"Climb a little closer to me!" Sonic commanded.

Shard tried to climb up, but was struggling, so he gave up. "I can't, Sonic…"

"You can!" Sonic encouraged. "Just a little further, Shard! You're almost there!"

Shard tried again, but couldn't reach. He shook his head. "I can't…" He then noticed that he was running out of energy, looking up at Sonic. "You gave me my chance of life… You showed me friendship… At least I had a chance… But now you must give Metal one, too…"

"Shard, don't you start thinking that this is your end! It's not!" Sonic yelled.

Shard only smiled that little smile at him. "Goodbye, Sonic…" he said before his energy ran out, automatically shutting down. He lost his grip on the side, slipping down into the lava.

"No!" Sonic bellowed. He was about to jump even further down, until he saw someone else jump right into the lava. It was Metal.

Metal strode over to Shard, the lava very thick to walk through. He felt himself slowly melting, but with his denser armour, it wasn't much of a danger yet. He grabbed Shard and picked him up in his arms, looking up at Sonic.

Sonic was unsure of why Metal was looking at him, until he realised that it was because Metal wanted Tails to be called down. After all, he could fly.

"Tails!" Sonic shouted.

Tails peeked down the crater.

Sonic looked up at Tails, as did Metal. "Get Metal!" Sonic commanded.

Tails immediately flew down using his two tails, managing to grab Metal, but was unable to lift him with Shard. "I can't – he's too heavy when he's carrying Shard!" he told Sonic.

Metal then tried to hand Shard to Tails. Tails was able to grab Shard and lift him. Although he was heavy, Tails could still make it and managed to fly back up to the top, lying Shard down on the ground.

Metal, while Tails was doing that, stumbled over to the side where Sonic was, falling over and pulling himself out of the lava.

Sonic looked at Metal. "Maybe Shard was right about you after all…" he admitted.

Metal looked back at him, bleeping.

Tails then flew down again once Shard was safe.

"Grab Metal, Tails; I can get up by myself," Sonic assured as he tried to get on his feet. He charged up a dash before he could fall backwards, rushing up to the top faster than the speed of sound.

Tails had grabbed Metal, placing him down, as well. Metal, however, was struggling to stand due to his melted legs.

"Well… At least we're safe…" Sonic stated.

"Yeah, but how are we going to get outta here, Sonic?" Tails asked.

"I'm not sure, lil' buddy," Sonic sighed. Seconds after he said that, he could hear what sounded like a hovercraft landing. He, Tails and Metal saw it, seeing that it was the president and Sara.

"Mr President?" Sonic asked, surprised to see him.

"We got here as fast as we could, Sonic," the president responded.

"Good timing, too," Sonic grinned. "We needed a way out."

The president noticed Shard in his shut-down state. "Get Shard in the back, Sonic – we'll take you two back as fast as we can," he assured.

Sara then noticed Metal standing near them. "WAAHH! It's Metal Sonic!" she screamed, clinging onto her father.

The president also noticed Metal, a little scared himself.

"Hey, it's cool. He's a good guy now," Sonic assured. "Mind if he catches a ride, too?"

"S-Sure, Sonic…" the president answered, clearing his throat. "Okay, then, let's head back to South Island where you are staying."

So Sonic and Tails got into the craft with Metal, loading Shard into the back carefully where he was safe. Once they got back, there were a few repairs to do.

**~End of Chapter~**


	14. Chapter 14: The Repairs

**~Chapter 14: The Repairs~**

The four were safely returned home on South Island. Sonic carried Shard inside while Tails supported Metal to help him walk.

"I'll fix Metal first so he doesn't have to wait for a long time," Tails planned.

"Okay, bud," Sonic responded.

Tails lied Metal down on the work surface. Of course, Metal felt uneasy since these were the two who he was fighting previously, one being his main target. However, he had to learn to trust them if he wanted them to trust him.

Sonic waited as Tails repaired Metal's legs. He wasn't so sure about the choice of letting Metal be on their side, and also if Robotnik made any more Metal Sonics, Shard might try helping them, too. On one hand it would be annoying to have so many Metal Sonics, but on the other hand it would be cool to have a robot army.

Soon Tails was done fixing Metal's legs, so they were as good as new. "There you go," he said, tossing his wrench in the air and then catching it.

Metal got up to his feet, looking down to see his legs. They were as they were before. Metal looked at Tails and then bleeped as if to thank him, moving out of the way so Shard could be put on the work table. After all, Shard was the one who really needed repairing – and also needed to be charged up.

Sonic went outside with Metal, standing on the beach and watching the waves as the sun began to set. He looked at his counterpart. "I guess Tails is planning to reprogram you when he's done fixing Shard," he guessed.

Metal just kept staring out to sea.

"Hey, are you okay, metal-head?" Sonic asked. Despite using a form of an insult, he sounded concerned.

Still, Metal didn't respond.

Sonic just sighed, sitting down. "Well, I guess we'll just wait until Shard's repaired," he announced.

Metal stayed standing, again not responding.

…

Robotnik had found a run-down base in a city within the Land of Darkness. He was standing within the darkness of the base, having managed to get the large computer screen working as he saw the damage of his old base.

"Oh, how I hate that hedgehog!" he rasped. "Even managing to convert my perfected Metal Sonic! Gah!" He smashed his fist down onto the computer's control panel angrily. However, he soon calmed himself down and grinned, stroking his long orange moustache. "Perhaps I should give up on making Metal Sonics…" he told himself. "But maybe I could make a Sonic robot… using Sonic himself!" He then bellowed out a large laughter.

…

Tails had eventually repaired Shard after about an hour or so, watching him reboot.

Shard's eyes whirred for a bit as he began buzzing weirdly. He then shook his head quickly to get himself focused, looking at Tails. He was confused, then he looked at himself. He touched his body to make sure it was real. Again, Shard looked at Tails. "I'm alive?" he asked, sounding surprised.

"Yup," Tails replied, smiling.

"Woohoo!" Shard cheered, running outside. This caused Tails to laugh a little, walking out after him.

Shard ran onto the beach, seeing Sonic and Metal look at him, Sonic wearing a smile. However, Shard barely noticed them as he body-slammed into the sand. He then rolled onto his back, moving as if making a snow angel, smiling. "I'm alive!"

Metal looked at Shard, a little embarrassed. He would've face-palmed, but he wasn't that type of guy.

Sonic did his usual cocky snicker, his hand on one hip. "Having fun, Shard?" he asked.

Shard stopped, looking up with a smile. "I'm just glad to be alive," he finalized.

"If it wasn't for Metal, you would've melted in the lava again," Sonic credited. "And if it wasn't for Tails, you wouldn't have been flown out with Metal."

"Thanks Metal, thanks Tails," Shard thanked the two, getting back up to his feet.

Sonic decided to continue. "And if it wasn't for me, Tails wouldn't have come down to save you both in time. And if it wasn't for the president, we wouldn't have got a ride home."

"Thanks, Sonic," Shard said as a final thanks. He then walked over to Metal, who was just standing with his arms folded. "You know, I think you'd look a little better with a more independent look," he pinioned. "I'm sure Tails will help with that, as will I, of course."

"It might take a while to customize the body," Tails admitted, scratching his neck.

"Don't worry, Tails, I'll explain what goes where. It might be easier to use my design a little," Shard assured.

"I guess so," Tails agreed. "Alright then, let's get to work!" He headed inside.

Shard turned to Metal. "Come on, bro," he said, motioning his head to the inside of their home. He began heading inside.

Metal followed Shard.

**~End of Chapter~**


	15. Chapter 15: The Finale

**~Chapter 15: The Finale~**

_3 months later…_

Again, Tails was surfing happily. It was a lovely day, so why not? As usual, Sonic was laid on the beach listening to music with his sunglasses on. Shard was on two water-skis, holding onto a handle off the end of a rope. On the other end was Metal, who had been upgraded into Metal Sonic 2.5, looking like a blue and silver version of Shard with a yellow power gem. Metal was flying along at a high speed, pulling Shard along.

Eventually Shard fell off the skis into the water. Metal stopped. Seconds later, though, Shard resurfaced. "That was awesome!" he cheered.

Metal flew down and picked Shard and the skis up, flying back to shore. He untied himself, handing the rope to Shard. "My turn," he stated.

Shard sniggered. "Alright," he agreed, tying the rope around himself and standing in the shallow part of the water. He looked back at Metal, who was getting on the pair of skis and. He nodded to Shard once he was holding onto the end of the rope by the handle. Shard looked ahead of himself taking flight at full speed, pulling Metal along.

Tails had stopped surfing, now drying himself on the shore. He smiled as he watched Shard and Metal, until Metal was soon in the water. Shard pulled him out of the water with the skis, taking him back to the shore. He laughed a little.

"That was fun!" Shard pinioned, still laughing a little.

"I suppose it was," Metal replied, only smiling slightly.

Shard then looked at Metal, rubbing his chin in thought. "You know, I think you could do with a new name," he announced. "Your current name might remind you of your bad life."

"Hmph," Metal responded, folding his arms.

"Well, why don't you pick your own name?" Shard suggested. "I picked mine. Nothing too cheesy or cliché, though - something cool."

Metal just thought. Coming up with names wasn't really his thing, until he came up with something which he liked. "How about Metallix?"

"Metallix?" Shard repeated, sounding confused.

"It's not far from my old name, but it doesn't remind me of it," Metal explained.

Shard smiled. "Okay then, Metallix," he agreed. "And if we ever want to shorten your name, we can just call you Mex."

"Alright," Metallix nodded.

Sonic and Tails then ran over. "Yo, guys," Sonic greeted.

"Hey, Sonic," Shard responded. "I was just helping Metal here get a new name. From now on. He's Metallix, or Mex for short."

"Mex…" Sonic repeated. "Huh. I like it. Suits ya!"

"I suppose it does," Metallix replied. "But I like referring to myself as Metallix."

"All we can do now is hope that ol' Robotnik doesn't build another Metal Sonic," Sonic stated. "Hey, speaking of the old football, I guess we can give him a new name, too! How does Eggman sound?"

Tails laughed a little, as did Shard, while Metallix just smiled. "Suits him," Tails agreed as he laughed.

"Yeah, it does," Shard added, chuckling.

"I think that's going to stick in all of our minds for a while," Metallix stated.

"It sure is," Sonic laughed.

"Or he could be Humpty Dumpty," Shard altered.

Sonic and Tails just laughed, as did Shard. Metallix just snickered a little before returning to a smile.

Shard then bumped Metallix on the shoulder. "Hey, junior, catch me if you can!" he challenged, flying off.

"Oh, I bet I can catch you," Metallix responded, flying after him.

The two others watched them go, before Sonic turned to Tails, winking. "I guess a little run wouldn't hurt me," he said to him with a grin. "But the question is – can you keep up?" He then sped off.

Tails used his two tails to help himself fly, flying after Sonic. "Hey! Get back here!" he yelled, laughing.

With the two robots, Metallix managed to tag Shard on the shoulder.

"Alright, you got me," Shard chuckled as he stopped. Metallix stopped by him. He then saw Sonic and Tails.

"Let's go," Metallix said, hovering down to Sonic and Tails.

Shard also hovered down to them, both the hedgebots landing on the ground. The four just chuckled together, until Shard got a message from the president. It was to be informed to the others.

"Guys, apparently the president wants to award us all," he informed.

"Award us? Cool!" Sonic reacted happily. "Let's go!"

"Last one there is a rotten Eggman~!" Shard announced in a sing-song tone of voice. He flew off.

"Hey, wait for us!" Sonic yelled, running after him.

Shard looked back at him, grinning to himself, before picking up speed to as fast as he could go, which was now a little faster than before due to being repaired.

"Shard!" Sonic, Tails and Metallix shouted.

**~The End~**


End file.
